Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024 | 2:26 p.m.
Clark County residents suffered through a deadly summer heatwave, where the average temperature in July was 107 degrees to challenge the region’s response in assisting vulnerable residents.
The conditions were the cause of 491 deaths, the Southern Nevada Health District said this month, to mark a 78% increase in heat-related fatalities from 2023.
That’s why U.S. Reps. Dina Titus, D-Nev., and Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., are sponsoring the Extreme Weather and Response Modernization Act in the House of Representativesthat would classify extreme heat as a crisis with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just like a hurricane, flood or tornado.
The bill would give FEMA more support in allocating resources to address the health impacts of extreme heat like cooling and resiliency centers. It also would provide protections to outdoor workers.
The act additionally calls for measuring the impact of extreme heat on infrastructure, the economy, and public health, and recommending a framework for mitigation and response, the proposal reads.
“Wildfires and record-breaking heat waves have become part of our daily reality,” said Roberto Renteria, a member of Make the Road Nevada. “These aren’t just weather events, they are urgent calls of action.”
Titus joined Make the Road Nevada, a nonprofit advocating for working class and Latino communities, to discuss the impacts of climate change and tout her proposal.
The bill would also establish an advisory committee of national experts to come up with a way to identify an area that is impacted by extreme heat to make it easier for communities to receive funding from FEMA.
“Unlike a tornado or an earthquake — you can see it, you can map it,” Titus said. “Extreme heat is not that clear cut.”
The proposal, which was introduced in July at the peak of the summer heat, hasn’t been voted on. It likely would need to be reintroduced in the next congressional session.
“We cannot ignore the fact that extreme heat is a public health crisis, affecting those who are already vulnerable,” Renteria said. “We’re talking about workers and low-income families who face the consequences of this climate effect.”
The impacts of the climate crisis are felt statewide through extreme heat, wildfires, drought, diminished water supply and poor air quality, said Jackie Spicer, the coalition coordinator at Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition. Extreme heat and poor air quality are compounding threats exacerbated by the built environment and rising annual temperatures.
“Heat mitigation strategies such as cooling spaces, public drinking water, shade over paved surfaces and urban tree canopies are some of the things that can be included in the long-term plans for Nevada’s future to save lives and improve health outcomes,” Spicer said.