President Joe Biden spoke to the press midday Wednesday to address the federal response to both the Maui fires and Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in Florida at 7:45 a.m. EDT Wednesday morning as a Category 3 hurricane.
What Biden said about Florida’s hurricane preparations
He began by discussing the federal response to Hurricane Idalia, which he described as being prompt. Early Monday morning, Biden approved Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ early request for an emergency declaration.
This decision, Biden told the press, allowed Florida to get full support from the federal government ahead of time, before it even made landfall.
When asked about whether election politics had a place in his conversations with DeSantis, Biden emphasized the Florida governor’s laser focus on helping Florida adapt and recover from Hurricane Idalia. He said he trusts that he and DeSantis have the same goal, to talk disaster relief and not politics.
Idalia, now moved down to a Category 1 hurricane, is moving its way north up the East Coast, toward Georgia and the Carolinas. Despite not being as strong as when it made landfall, Idalia is still producing dangerous winds up to 75 mph.
Biden informed the press that he’d already met with FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, who he’d instructed to fly out to Florida Wednesday afternoon to conduct a federal assessment on the disaster as quickly as possible.
He said he “resurged personnel to Florida to help the state to move people to safety and out of the danger zone and to help the governor and his team to the greatest degree possible.”
In addition, Biden instructed FEMA to “redeploy 1,500 FEMA personnel and 900 coastguard personnel throughout the southeast.”
Biden addresses impact of ‘climate crisis’
As the storm pattern began to take aim at the East Coast, he said he met with South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to make the federal government’s support known.
Still, he said, there’s much more to do as the storm batters the Southeast.
He addressed the role climate change has played in both Hurricane Idalia and the Maui wildfires.
Biden told the press, “I don’t think anybody can deny impact of the climate crisis anymore. Just look around, historic floods, I mean historic floods, more intense droughts, extreme heat, significant wildfires, have caused significant damage like we’ve never seen before, not only throughout the Hawaiian islands and the United States, but in Canada and other parts of the world.”
Amid the chaos of Hurricane Idalia and other weather events across the U.S., he remains “laser focused on recovery and rebuilding efforts in Maui.”
What Biden said about Maui wildfires and power grid improvements
Weeks out from the historic wildfires that scorched Lahaina and much of west Maui, Biden maintained his pledge to give Maui “everything the federal government can offer to heal and build back better as fast as possible.”
He spoke of past pledges of monetary assistance, including $24 million to remove hazardous material from fire’s wake and $400 million for debris removal.
In his address, Biden announced that his administration would give $95 million from the bipartisan infrastructure bill for power grid improvements. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Biden said, accelerated this funding to “meet the moment.”
This funding would ensure electricity can reach places like homes, hospitals and water stations during an extreme weather event.
He said funding would also extend to fortifying power lines and poles, as well as potentially putting them underground. It could go further toward smart meters that would tell operators exactly where an outage or damage has occurred, allowing emergency responders to make repairs quicker.
Later, he added that the scope of the power grid’s reach would still be determined by the experts, saying that “it’s not irrational to make the judgement to shut off power, I just don’t know enough detail on how to do that (or) where that decision is made.”
These infrastructural improvements are necessary, Biden said, because these disasters are here to stay.
Biden addressed continual aid to Maui
Necessary, too, is the federal government’s continual aid to Maui. In his address, he emphasized an ambition to “build back (a) stronger and more resilient future” Maui’s way.
He pledged additional aid for recovery and rebuilding, should the island need it. He also urged people to remain patient.
“The work we’re doing is going to take time, in some cases a long time. We’re going to do it in a way to makes sure we’re respectful to the wishes and traditions of the Hawaiian people as well.”
Still, he knows it will be “frustrating as a devil for people.”
According to Biden, boots will be on the ground until the job is done and people can return to their lives.