By Shannon Pettypiece - NBC News
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden will double funding for communities to prepare for extreme weather events ahead of this hurricane season, which
forecasters warn will be more active than usual.
Biden made the announcement Monday at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where he was informed of projections for the hurricane season.
Biden also announced
a new NASA climate data collection and analysis system
to help understand and track the effects of the climate emergency, the White House said.
"We are not going to skimp on expense or effort to keep Americans safe and respond to crises when they arise, and they certainly will," Biden said.
"Now is the time to prepare for America's busiest natural disaster season of the year - hurricane season in the south and east, and fire season in the west."
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted an "above normal Atlantic hurricane season" last week, yet
forecasters are not expecting the historic level of storms last year.
The government, which has been taking a series of measures to address the effects of the climate emergency, seeks to take a more proactive rather than reactive response.
Biden signed an executive order last week directing federal agencies to identify and disclose how their programs will be affected by long-term changes in the climate.
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The $ 1 billion the White House announced Monday will fund a program called
Building Infrastructure and Resilient Communities
, which seeks to help prepare for extreme weather events and other disasters.
The White House said the United States suffered 22 weather and climate-related disasters last year, with losses exceeding $ 1 billion each, with
a cumulative price tag of nearly $ 100 billion.
