After Arizona saw some of its harshest temperatures on record last summer, lawmakers, advocates and researchers have been pushing FEMA to extend the definition of “major disaster” to include extreme heat and wildfire smoke.
The expanded definitions would unlock funding that could prevent further heat-related illness and deaths.
Jean Su, the Energy Justice program director and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said they’re arguing the law is already broad enough for FEMA to do so.
“All of this is purely discretionary for FEMA and the White House,” she said. “It's within their authority, they're actually statutorily authorized to do it, so why not do it?”
Additional FEMA dollars could secure resources for proactive measures and long-term solutions that protect vulnerable communities like strategically placed, permanent community cooling centers.
“Mostly where we see extreme heat effects are in people,” Su said. “Those are common sense things that can actually decrease the medical risks and impacts of extreme heat and are totally able to be funded by FEMA dollars.”
Meanwhile, she said workers and low-income communities will bear the brunt of these climate-related disasters.
“The longer we wait, the more people will suffer,” said Sue. “And so we have to get on our game and actually deal with the climate emergency head on.”
For now, Su said it’s up to FEMA to open the door and support the measures that would protect them.
