President Joe Biden spoke to the nation from the Emergency Operations Center in Washington, on July 2, and announced five new actions to “address extreme weather, including heat and other hazards.”
“Extreme weather events don’t just affect people’s lives, they also cost money,” he said. “They hurt the economy, and they have a significant negative psychological effect on people.
“Last year, the largest weather related disasters cost over—get this—$90 billion in damages in America.”
Calling attention to the “nearly 2.5 million people” displaced in 2023 due to weather-related disasters, the president emphasized the threat extreme weather poses to transportation systems, power grids, farms, fisheries, and forests….