Biden stresses need to prepare for more climate disasters like Hurricane Idalia, Maui fires in speech today

President Biden on Wednesday stressed the need to rebuild a more resilient American infrastructure, as Hurricane Idalia batters Florida and Georgia. No one, he said, can "deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore."

In a press conference at the White House, the president emphasized the importance of rebuilding a "stronger" Maui in the wake of the island's devastating wildfires, and suggested that infrastructure improvements made during the Obama-Biden years are benefiting Florida now. Hurricane Idalia, which hit Florida's Big Bend coast as a Category 3 hurricane, has since weakened and left the state, but not without dumping heavy rain and rising storm surges on vulnerable communities. 

"I don't think anybody can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore," the president said, flanked by top emergency management personnel. "Just look around. Historic floods, I mean historic floods. More intense droughts. Extreme heat. Significant wildfires that have caused significant damage like we've never seen before, not only throughout the Hawaiian islands in the United States but in Canada and other parts of the world. We've never seen this much fire."