LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Millions of people in the Midwest and the Northeast are bracing for the first big heat wave of the summer.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
And as they do, a coalition of environmental, labor and health professionals are petitioning the Federal Emergency Management Agency - FEMA - to treat extreme heat as a major disaster, a designation that would help states and communities access funding and support.
FADEL: Alejandra Borunda from NPR's climate desk is here to talk about it all. Alejandra, good morning.
ALEJANDRA BORUNDA, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: So why doesn't FEMA consider heat a disaster already?
BORUNDA: So to get FEMA's help, a state needs to ask for presidentially declared disaster and not all disasters qualify. There's a law called the Stafford Act that authorizes FEMA's activities, and it has an example list. Earthquakes and hurricanes are on it - heat is not. But it's also not explicitly excluded. The act is actually written very flexibly. So COVID-19 counted, for example, even though pandemic wasn't on the list. So theoretically, extreme heat could also be considered but it's just never happened.
FADEL: And why hasn't it ever happened?
BORUNDA: Well, so only a few states have ever asked for that disaster declaration for heat. Illinois did, for example, after the 1995 heat wave that killed hundreds of people in Chicago. But so far, states have all been told no. That's because FEMA thought the destruction wasn't so overwhelming that the states couldn't handle it themselves. Juanita Constible puts it this way - she's an environmental policy expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
JUANITA CONSTIBLE: After a hurricane, after a big storm, there's devastation galore - there's power lines down and buildings destroyed and entire businesses just blown away.
BORUNDA: With heat, on the other hand...
CONSTIBLE: Most of the people that are hurt are essentially invisible to decision makers. They die alone in their homes. They are unhoused and start dying on the street.
BORUNDA: We actually know that heat is killing many more people than disasters like hurricanes. It just hasn't inspired the same urgent response.
FADEL: I mean, that's so sad. They're just forgotten, it sounds like, from what she was saying. What is this coalition asking FEMA to do?
BORUNDA: They want FEMA to include extreme heat and wildfire smoke in the Stafford Act. That would help the agency use its considerable powers and money with these disasters. FEMA has actually indicated that they're interested in responding to heat, and they don't even technically need to update the language. Under the right circumstances, a state asks for help, the President declares an emergency, FEMA sees a big enough need. They could actually step in now.
FADEL: What support could FEMA provide in an extreme heat disaster?
BORUNDA: Well, FEMA could set up cooling centers or water stations or send in extra medical personnel. They also fund long-term resilience and recovery efforts. That could mean setting up permanent resilience hubs or developing other infrastructure to make cities cooler. FEMA also directs many toward people hurt by disasters. Here's a big issue nurse Adelita Cantu from San Antonio sees all the time for her lower-income patients.
ADELITA CANTU: They're not turning on their air conditioning because they're afraid of the electricity bill.
BORUNDA: That decision to not turn on the AC can be deadly. Some suggest FEMA could maybe pay people's electricity bills after a heat disaster.
FADEL: What has FEMA said about the role it could play when it comes to extreme heat?
BORUNDA: FEMA administrators have said recently that they know they have a role in extreme heat response, and they're open to the idea, but it's really new ground for them, so everyone is figuring it out on the fly.
FADEL: NPR's Alejandra Borunda. Thank you so much.
BORUNDA: Thank you.
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