Tom covers the federal response to climate change, focusing on FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and other disaster-response agencies. He worked previously at USA Today, BuzzFeed News, Newsday and several local newspapers. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2012 and has won other national journalism awards including from the Scripps Howard Foundation, the National Press Club and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. He has a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
Two years ago, when flood expert Sam Brody finished giving a presentation at an annual flood conference in Washington, a Federal Emergency Management Agency official approached Brody with a challenge.
Tropical storms arrived at the United States' doorstep before hurricane season started in each of the last six years. Scientists are now thinking about extending the season.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is taking the unprecedented step of trying to minimize the number of people who evacuate before a hurricane to prevent spreading the coronavirus.
Emergency officials across the United States are racing to avoid a health catastrophe if massive evacuations are needed during hurricanes or wildfires. It's safer to seek refuge outside a disaster zone than remain quarantined to avoid the coronavirus.
The National Guard should be put in charge of hurricane response this year because the Federal Emergency Management Agency will likely be overwhelmed as it handles the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the military leader who oversaw the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.