Hillary Clinton said climate change was to blame for Hurricane Hermine during a campaign rally Tuesday in Tampa, Florida, warning more storms would come.
"Another threat to our country is climate change," she said. "2015 was the hottest year on record, and the science is clear. It’s real. It’s wreaking havoc on communities across America. Last week’s hurricane was another reminder of the devastation that extreme weather can cause, and I send my thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by Hermine."
"But this is not the last one that’s going to hit Florida, given what’s happening in the climate. Nobody knows that better than folks right here in Tampa and in the broader region," Clinton continued. "Sea levels have been rising here about an inch per decade since the 1950s. At the rate we are going, by 2030, which is not that far away, $70 billion of coastal property in this state will be flooding at high tide. And whenever our infrastructure is threatened, so too is our homeland security."
Hermine peaked as a Category 1, the weakest level to be considered a hurricane, and hit the "Big Bend" region of Florida on Thursday, marking the first time a hurricane had made landfall in the state in 11 years. Hermine then continued on a path out into the Atlantic Ocean and began resembling more of a nor’easter.
Clinton pledged to work with local leaders to make "smart investments" in infrastructure to combat flooding and other climate change effects.