This program is a co-production from NPR, IRW and FRONTLINE. Business of Disaster takes a deep dive into the nation’s disaster-recovery system, examining the shortcomings in the response to Hurricane Sandy.
The full program can also be watched on FRONTLINE’s site.
The PBS FRONTLINE/NPR investigation “Business of Disaster,” examines why thousands of residents of New Jersey and New York are still struggling more than three years after a huge East Coast storm devastated their communities.
NPR reporter Laura Sullivan teamed up with the PBS FRONTLINE production team — writer-producer Rick Young and associate producers Emma Schwartz and Fritz Kramer — based at the Investigative Reporting Workshop and the School of Communication to take a deep dive into the nation’s disaster-recovery system. Their reporting reveals major problems with the flood-insurance program and efforts to build more resilient communities.
This is the ninth co-production between Young and his team and the Workshop, through which four students contributed additional reporting, research and production assistance.
The program aired on Tuesday, May 24th, on PBS stations across the country. Stories also were broadcast May 24 on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and on May 25 on “Morning Edition.”
MORE IN THIS SERIES:
- D. Ashley Campbell investigates federal disaster relief programs through an interactive timeline.
- Emma Schwartz takes a deep dive into the big business of disaster recovery.
- NPR’s Laura Sullivan talks about her career as a journalist and the power of visual storytelling.
MORE FROM PBS FRONTLINE:
- Patrice Taddonio on whether and how insurance companies profit after a natural disaster and whether the government tracks their costs and profits.
- Sarah Childress on how states and cities are bracing for the next big disaster.
- Priyanka Boghani on FEMA’s announcement of reforms to the flood-insurance program.
