Biden to Visit Northeast Flood Zones as Demand Grows for Climate Action

As residents scrambled to clean up and assess damage from catastrophic flash floods that swept the Northeast last week, President Biden prepared to visit hard-hit areas in New York and New Jersey, where he will confront political ferment that is growing over the climate-driven disaster.


The lethal deluge from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, which killed more than 45 people in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, has amped up battles that began in 2012 with Hurricane Sandy over how to slow climate change and protect communities. The floods are already sharpening debate over whether city, state and national leaders are doing enough — even those who, like Mr. Biden, publicly champion strong measures.


Mr. Biden’s trip comes as he and Democratic leaders struggle to get Congress to include measures to curb planet-warming emissions in a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and to increase funding to protect communities from disasters like the one last week.


Within hours of the New York-area downpours, Mr. Biden had directly linked them to his climate agenda. In a speech, he described the floods as “yet another reminder that these extreme storms and the climate crisis are here,” and called for more spending on modernizing electrical grids, sewers, water systems, bridges and roads.

But some climate groups are faulting his administration for including major new funding to build and widen highways in the measure.


In New York and New Jersey, advocates for tougher climate measures are hoping that the disaster will give new momentum to ambitious state and local climate laws and regulations and help overcome opposition to even more sweeping proposals, like a City Council bill to ban gas heating and stoves in all new buildings.


Kathy Hochul, the New York governor, and Bill de Blasio, the New York mayor, vowed to step up the fight to address climate change as state and city agencies fanned out to help residents apply for aid and file insurance claims. But some residents still complained that no official had yet been to their block days after the flooding. By Anne Barnard

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