"Record-breaking Heatwave Ravages US, 60 Million People Under Alert"

More than 60 million Americans are under heat alerts this week as extreme weather events, including heatwaves, continue to ravage the US. However, federal law does not explicitly consider heatwaves to be climate disasters, leading to a lack of funding and resources to handle these emergencies. The Biden administration has requested an additional $4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to supplement the already dwindling Disaster Relief Fund. The omission of heatwaves from major disaster declarations disincentivizes communities from including extreme heat in hazard mitigation plans. Efforts are being made to amend the Stafford Act to include extreme heat as a qualifying incident for disaster declarations, but discussions on how to deal with the challenge are ongoing. Urgent action is needed to address the climate crisis and its impact on heatwaves, including phasing out fossil fuels and implementing measures to boost heat preparedness.