Head of FEMA says historic destruction caused by Helene is linked to climate crisis [Video]

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has said that the severe flooding and subsequent devastation caused by Hurricane Helene is linked to the climate emergency.

Deanne Criswell said that rising temperatures in the Gulf were causing conditions that caused “significant infrastructure damage” that had affected a multi-state area.

Though the worst of Helene is now believed to have passed, recovery efforts in multiple communities are underway at pace. At least 62 people have been killed and millions have been left without power.

The storm, now classified a post-tropical cyclone, is expected to hover over the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and into Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Speaking to CBS’s Face The Nation on Sunday, Crisswell said Helene had been a “true multi-state event” following “historic flooding.”

“This storm took a while to develop, but once it did it intensified very rapidly – and that’s because of the warm …