As the Bay Area continues to experience an uncharacteristic heatwave, state officials are working on creating the country's first warning system for extreme heatwaves.
Assembly Bill 2238 was just introduced Wednesday, and would change the designation for extreme heat waves from simple weather events to a different classification.
"Saying, 'Get a beach umbrella out,' doesn’t really help people prepare," said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, a sponsor of the bill. "We need to treat this like the public health emergency that it really is."
The legislation would create a statewide early warning and ranking system for extreme heat waves.
"The early warning system to the public will give the location, the severity, and how long it will last," said Lara.
The ranking portion of the system would assign magnitude categories to extreme heat events similar to those assigned to hurricanes.
"Early warnings will save lives and build resiliency in our communities, especially for vulnerable communities and those more susceptible to the extreme heat," said Southern California Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, who introduced the legislation.
Under the bill, the state's Department of Insurance also would study both the insured and uninsured costs associated with heatwaves.
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