Selected Popular Writings

The New York Times. (2023, October 28). America’s Disaster Recovery System Is a Disaster.

The Boston Globe. (2023, April 3). Disasters will happen, and Massachusetts isn’t prepared.

MSNBC. (2023, February 15). The Ohio train derailment was bad enough. The emergency response made it worse.

The Hill. (2022, October 24). Hurricane Ian is Proof: The U.S. Needs a National Disaster Safety Board.

Scientific American. (2022, March 1). We’re No More Serious about the Climate Crisis Than We Were before the Pandemic.

Only Sky. (2022, January 5). Damage Control: Disasterology in The Climate Era.

Earther. (2020, May 20). ‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’ Is A Failure of a Film in a World on Fire.

Social Science Research Council Items. (2020, September 10). Not all disasters are disasters: Pandemic categorization and its consequences.

Earther. (2020, June 18). Disaster Fatigue Is Real - the Cornoavirus Could Make It Worse.

Earther. (2020, April 07). I’m a disaster scientist. Here’s why we need to think about coronavirus recovery now.

The Week. (2020, January 22). ‘Mops and buckets’ won’t do anything to save us from climate disaster’.

The Week. (2019, September 19). What’s missing from the Democrats’ climate conversation so far.

Teen Vogue. (2019, September 4). How to Help Survivors of Hurricane Dorian.

The Week. (2019, July 13). How New Orleans’ flooding risk is exacerbated by climate change.

Washington Post. (2019, March 29). 5 Myths About Floods.

Huffington Post. (2018, November 16). Trump’s Response to the California Wildfires Isn’t Just Inaccurate. It’s Dangerous.

Huffington Post. (2018, October 13). Now Is Not The Time For Hurricane Fatigue.

Scientific American. (2018, September 25). There Goes Hurricane Florence; Here Come the Disaster Myths.

Huffington Post. (2018, September 19). The Way We Categorize Hurricanes Puts People in Danger.  

City Lab. (2018, August 1). The Cost of Flood Insurance Is a Price Worth Paying.

City Lab. (2018, May 31). America Is Flooding, and It’s Our Fault.

Research Counts Blog Natural Hazards Center. (2017, October 18). It’s Time to Bring Back the People: Challenges and Opportunities for Participatory Disaster Recovery.

The Humanist. (2017, September 15). Hurricanes Harvey & Irma: Responding to the Second Disaster.

Portland Press Herald. (2017, September 6). Donating goods is the wrong way to help Harvey’s victims.

Vox. (2017, August 28). Here’s when Trump’s response to Hurricane Harvey will really Matter.  

Vox. (2016, August 23). The Louisiana floods are devastating, and climate change will bring more like them. We’re not ready.

Selected Interviews

The AP. (2023, January 19). Recovering from natural disasters is slow and bureaucratic. New FEMA rules aim to cut the red tape.

New York Times. (2023, January 19). As Climate Shocks Worsen, U.S. Disaster Agency Tries New Approach to Aid.

New York Times. (2023, January 11). U.S. hit by record number of high-cost disasters in 2023.

Washington Post. (2023, December 22). How a deadly blizzard forced a snow-hardy city to reckon with disaster risks.

Grist. (2023, December 15). Extreme weather cost $80 billion this year. The true price is far higher.

Scientific American. (2023, September 21). A Record Number of Billion-Dollar Disasters Shows U.S. Isn’t Ready For Climate Change.

The New Republic. (2023, July 28). What Will Twitter’s Death Mean for Climate Disaster Information?

NPR, A1. (2023, February 24). Officials Are Playing The Blame Game After The East Palestine Train Derailment.

This Week ABC. (2023, February 19). East Palestine residents should ‘ask for more testing’.

Bloomberg. (2023, February 18). Bungled Messaging Over Ohio Train Crash Causes Chaos.

WDAY. (2023, January 28). NDSU budget cuts could end graduate program for emergency management.

New York Times. (2022, November 30). U.S. to Pay Millions to Move Tribes Threatened by Climate Change.

Yale Climate Connections. (2022, November 27). Disasterology: a book review.

Earther. (2022, November 19). A Broken Twitter Means Broken Disaster Response.

Scientific American. (2022, November 18). Twitter Chaos Endangers Public Safety, Emergency Managers Warn.

The City. (2022, October 28). Ten Years Ago, Occupy Sandy Didn’t Just Help New Yorkers, It Redefined Disaster Response.

Vox. (2022, October 7). Hurricane Ian’s Exceptional Death Toll, Explained.

NRDC. (2022, October 6). Mutual Aid and Disaster Justice: ‘We Keep Us Safe’.

USA Today. (2022, October 4). This Florida woman survived her ‘biggest mistake’ in Hurricane Ian. Why experts say many others didn’t.

Bloomberg. (2022, September 30). Hurricane Ian’s Path Goes Inland With a Long Tail of Flood Risk.

Axios. (2022, September 29). Hurricane prep: Can’t afford to, can’t afford not to.

Bloomberg. (2022, September 29). Hurricane Ian Is a Climate Disaster for the History Books.

Capradio. (2022, September 20). Hard Lessons from Disaster Response.

The Guardian. (2022, September 15). Americans learn skills to survive the climate crisis — in a wilderness course.

CNN. (2022, August 4). Why climate change hits some communities harder than others.

The Frontline. (2022, July 25). Reproductive Justice is Climate Justice.

Inverse. (2022, July 19). Blackouts Are Likely This Summer — Here’s How to Prepare.

Vox. (2022, July 10). Why disasters are getting more severe but killing fewer people.

The Maine Monitor. (2022, January 30). Dodging Disaster.

Atmos. (2022, January 26). America’s Climate Workforce Suits Up.

MIT Sloan. (2022, January 18). The ‘Disasterology’ author wants us to rethink emergency management.

MIT Sloan. (2022, January 2022). How coastal cities can build climate resilience as the clock ticks

Temblor. (2022, January 5). Most Americans live in natural hazard hot spots.

Science Friday. (2021, December 24). When Can Climate Change Be Comedy?

Grist. (2021, December 22). December’s tornadoes show a country desperately in need of disaster reform.

Grist. (2021, December 15). 22 Predictions for 2022.

CBC. (2021, December 11). Don't Look Up is a disaster movie for the climate change times.

NPR. (2021, November 28). NYC hires private weather service for public safety after lethal flooding this fall.

New York Times. (2021, October 28). Disaster Prep Kits Get a Makeover.

National Geographic. (2021, October 11). Weather disaster-related deaths are down - warming could undo that trend.

InfoSecurity Magazine. (2021, September 3). When Cyber-Attacks Lead to Disasters, Does the Stafford Act Apply?

NPR. (2021, September 2). Our Future On A Hotter Planet Means More Climate Disasters Happening Simultaneously.

AP. (2021, September 1). UN: Weather disasters soar in numbers, cost, but deaths fall.

CNN. (2021, August 31). Hurricanes, wildfires, and drought: US finds itself battling climate disasters on several fronts.

Teen Vogue. (2021, August 30). How To Help Hurricane Ida Survivors.

Houston Chronicle. (2021, August 20). Rapidly-intensifying cyclones have likely become more common.

National Geographic. (2021, August 9). Deadly heat waves, floods, drought will get worse if warming continues.

The Independent. (2021, July 29). Watch experts discuss climate crisis’s impact on extreme weather during The Independent’s exclusive event.

The New Yorker. (2021, July 21). Pass The Mic. Climate Crisis Newsletter.

Southerly. (2021, July 21). ‘Communities shouldn’t have to rely on miracles’: A conversation with Samantha Montano.

New York Times. (2021, July 17). ‘No One Is Safe’: Extreme Weather Batters the Wealthy World.

Earther. (2021, July 7). Elon Musk’s Proposed Fort Lauderdale Tunnel Is a Flood Disaster Waiting to Happen.

Bangor Daily News. (2021, July 6). In Maine’s ‘City of Ships,’ climate change’s coastal threat is already here.

Buzzfeed. (2021, June 21). This Louisiana Town Is A Bleak Forecast Of America’s Future Climate Crisis.

Grist. (2021, June 3). Beleaguered by disaster damages, the U.S. may finally start spending on resilience.

Self. (2021, April 22). 30 Ways to Live More Sustainably — and Fight Climate Change in the Process.

Inside Climate News. (2021, April 19). Ice Storm Aftermath: More Climate Extremes Ahead for Galveston.

The City. (2021, April 8). ‘Gateway to Poverty’: Calls Rise for a National Relief Fund for COVID-19 Victims’ Families.

KYUK. (2021, March 30). Alaska Disaster Law Is Vague. Here’s How That Left One Community Scrambling For Help.

E&E News. (2021, February 23). Texas Officials Predicted Blackouts Ahead of Deep Freeze.

EOS. (2021, February 23). Natural Hazards Have Unnatural Impacts — What More Can Science Do?

Texas Observer. (2021, February 22). Why Texas Wasn’t Prepared for Winter Storm Uri.

The Frontline. (2021, February 22). The Pandemic Made the Polar Vortex Over Texas That Much More Dangerous.

The New York Times. (2021, February 20). Texas Crisis Exposes a Nation’s Vulnerability to Climate Change.

Publishers Weekly. (2021, February 5). Vital Signs: Environment & Climate Change Books 2021.

The Revelator. (2021, January 25). A ‘Disasterologist’ Talks Climate Change.

The Young Turks. (2020, January 21). Staying Home With Josh Fox.

Southerly. (2021, January 13). The key environmental policy priorities for the South, according to experts.

NBC Boston. (2020, December 11). Climate change and sea level erosion.

Coffee & Climate. (2020, December 8). Coffee and Climate with Pete and Chris.

Maine Beacon. (2020, December 4). From masks to universal coverage, we don’t get out of this unless we do it together.

Earther. (2020, December 3). How Biden can ensure every federal agency is fighting climate change.

Fashionista. (2020, November 20). Filipinos in fashion rally around typhoon relief, whether at home or abroad.

National Geographic. (2020, October 23). Hurricane path forecasts have much improved. Are they as good as they can get?

E&E News. (2020, October 19). Trump bypassed rules on California disaster approval.

Instagram Live with Ginger Zee #STEMALE Chat. (2020, September 24).

ABC News Live (2020, September 10). It’s Not Too Late with Ginger Zee.

The Atlantic. (2020, September 9). America Is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral.

E&E News. (2020, September 4). ‘Disasterologist’ on hurricanes, fires and ‘Mean Girls’.

Roll Call. (2020, September 1). ‘Subtly terrifying’: how coronavirus changed disaster response.

CNN. (2020, August 28). What to pack in a ‘go bag’ for when disaster strikes.

Inside Climate News. (2020, August 28). Laura rapidly intensified over a super-warm gulf. Only the storm surge faltered.

Earther. (2020, August 27). Hurricane Laura is heading for a city that can’t take any more.

Wired. (2020, August 26). Why hurricane Laura’s storm surge could be ‘unsurvivable’.

KPFA. (2020, August 25). 15 years after Hurricane Katrina, two storms bear down on Gulf Coast.

Grist. (2020, August 15). Trump wants to use FEMA to pay for unemployment. It’s not as crazy as it sounds.

The New York Times. (2020, August 4). Hurricane, fire, COVID-19: Disasters expose the hard reality of climate change.

Daily Beast. (2020, August 3). The pandemic plays hell with fighting wildfires and hurricanes.

Grist. (2020, July 31). How many wildland firefighters have COVID-19? Some agencies won’t, or can’t, say.

New Republic. (2020, July 20). Our Towns Aren’t Equipped to Handle Climate Emergencies.

Grist. (2020, July 20). To fight climate change, Democrats want to close the ‘digital divide’.

Miami Herald. (2020, June 26). More days of darkness, heath: Florida hurricane recovery won’t be fast in the time of COVID-19.

The American Prospect. (2020, May 27). The coronavirus and the rise of the states.

The Atlantic. (2020, May 26). First Came the Virus. Next Come the Storms.

National Geographic. (2020, May 22). What we’ll need to find the true COVID-19 death toll.

The Takeaway. (2020, May 20). Is COVID-19 Complicating Disaster Preparedness.

The Atlantic. (2020, May 9). What happens if a ‘Big One’ strikes during the pandemic.

The Atlantic. (2020, May 8). There’s One Big Reason the U.S. Economy Can’t Reopen.

Southerly Magazine. (2020, May 6). Emergency managers work nonstop to prepare communities for hurricanes during pandemic.

Quartz. (2020, May 4). One US town weathered floods, a tornado, and its first Covid-19 death on the same day.

Inside Edition. (2020, May 4). What could hurricane season during the coronavirus pandemic look like?

NJ.com. (2020, May 3). As hurricane season looms, could N.J. possibly handle a natural disaster, too?.

Morning Consult. (2020, May 1). Emergency managers hope pandemic lessons will apply to climate preparedness.

The News & Observer. (2020, April 30). Hurricane season is coming in the midst of a pandemic. Is NC ready for this?

ProPublica. (2020, April 29). Grieving families need help paying for COVID-19 burials, but Trump hasn’t released the money.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch. (2020, April 26). Pandemic stands to compound St. Louis region’s risk through flood season.

National Geographic. (2020, April 17). What happens when natural disasters strike during a pandemic?

Scientific American. (2020, April 16). What happens when other disasters hit during a pandemic.

Time Magazine. (2020, April 16). The tornadoes that rocked the south show how much more dangerous natural disasters will be in the coronavirus era.

Inside Climate News. (2020, April 16). For emergency personnel, disaster planning must now factor in COVID-19.

temblor. (2020, April 14). Dual disaster planning, communication and reason for hope: a discussion with professor Sam Montano.

Daily Beast. (2020, April 04). Kushner’s claims about national stockpile contradicted by Trump’s own administration.

Gizmodo. (2020, April 03). Hurricane season on top of a pandemic will be a nightmare.

USA Today. (2020, March 26). California could be the state hit hardest financially by coronavirus. Is it ready?

New York Times. (2020, March 21). As natural disasters strike, a new fear: relief shelters may spread virus.

COVID-Calls. (2020, March 21). Samantha Montano & Patrick Roberts — disaster management.

New York Times. (2020, March 20). How the coronavirus crisis may hinder efforts to fight wildfires.

Psychology Today. (2020, February 28). A disasterologist’s take on effective volunteering. Part Two.

Psychology Today. (2020, February 27). A disasterologist’s take on effective volunteering. Part One.

The Guardian. (2019, October 17). Thirty years after devastating quake, is San Francisco ready for the next?

The Guardian. (2019, October 11). California power shutoff: how PG&E's actions hit the medically vulnerable the hardest.

Los Angeles Times. (2019, October 9). PG&E power outage: How to survive with just your cellphone.

Truthout. (2019, September 23). Mutual Aid Networks Go Beyond Disaster Relief. They Offer Community Empowerment.

CBS News Radio. (2019, September 21). Eye On Earth.

KPFN. (2019, September 5). Upfront.

The Weather Channel. (2019, September 4). When an Evacuation Order Comes, Thousands Weigh Wether to Stay or Go.

Mother Jones. (2019, August 28). Trump Attacks Puerto Rico Ahead of the Storm—When the Island Is More Vulnerable Than Ever.

Medium. (2019, August 27). Disasterology: What Public Scholarship Looks Like.  

NPR. (2019, June 12). FEMA officials in the hot seat over disaster preparedness.

Bloomberg. (2019, June 11). U.S. Hurricane Season Is Unnecessarily Dangerous.

Forbes. (2018, October 1). Indonesian Tsunami: What Happened, How to Survive One, And How To Help.

Vox. (2018, September 15). Trump restates Puerto Rico death toll conspiracy.

Fine Books & Collections. (2017, November 1). Bright Young Collectors: Samantha Montano.

Vox. (2017, August 29). A perfect Hurricane Harvey response is impossible but we do know what makes a good recovery.

Vox. (2017, August 31). Hurricane Harvey: where you can donate to help with disaster relief and recovery.

Vox. (2018, June 2). Stunning new Hurricane Maria death toll confirms Puerto Rico’s devastating losses after the storm.

WKRG. (2018, May 22). Hurricane: Prepare, protect, survive.

Vox. (2017, August 31). Hurricane Harvey: where you can donate to help with disaster relief and recovery.

Emergency Management Magazine (2017, January 26). Does your plan address gender issues?

The Guardian. (2014, December 16). How prepared is New York City for future superstorms?

Times Picayune. (2009, September 28). Students came to help, return to learn.

Selected Radio/Podcast Appearances

Utah Public Radio. (2023, November 2). Undisciplined: With natural disasters rising in frequency, the US needs to rethink emergency management.

Ten Across. (2023. September 22). The Next Era of Emergency Management With Dr. Samantha Montano

Science Friday. (2021, December 24). ‘Don’t Look Up’ Movie.

Sustain What. (2021, October 21). A “Great Shakeout” Preparedness Brainstorm with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

Beat The Big Guys. (2021, October 19). Dr. Samantha Montano on Beat the Big Guys with Sandy Rosenthal.

Science Friday on NPR. (2021, July 30). A Disasterologist On Coming Together To Weather The Climate Crisis.

NPR 1A. (2021, July 22). Extreme Weather Is Pummeling The World. Can We Adapt?

The Populist Voice: The Happy Hour Challenge. (2021, June 2). Disasterology with Dr. Samantha Montano.

Disaster Girls Podcast. (2021, May 2). Disasterology w/ Dr. Samantha Montano & John Carr.

PARC Media. (2021, April 1). Dr. Samantha Montano on Disasterology, Emergency Planning & Climate Change.

COVID Calls. (2021, March 31). Emergency Management & Faces of COVID One Year Anniversary.

Inciting A Riot. (2021, March 23). Episode 165: Inciting A Disasterology Riot.

Sage. (2021, March 9). Are Disasters Really Natural? Insights from a Disasterologist.

Disaster Podcast. (2021, March 5). Disasterology Author Dr. Samantha Montano on Climate Change Mitigation.

Profoundly Pointless. (2021, March 3). Disasterologist Dr. Samantha Montano.

Science + Story Podcast. (2020, October 27). Samantha Montano: Being A Disasterologist.

Cooler Earth Podcast. (2020, October 22). Disasterologist Samantha Montano.

How To Save A Planet. (2020, September 10). Unnatural Disasters.

Disasters Deconstructed. (2020, July 13). Disaster Reporting.

World Politics Review: Trend Lines. (2020, May 27). Preparing for Natural Disasters in the Age of COVID-19.

Climate 2020. (2020, May 7). Disaster Squared: A Hurricane During the Pandemic.

Podcast: Hot Take. (2020, April 05). Disaster Denialism with Guest Co-Host Dr. Samantha Montano

Podcast: Mass For Shut-Ins. (2020, March 30). Shelter in Place.

Disasters Deconstructed Podcast. (2020, March 13). Special COVID-19.

Disaster Collectivism Podcast. (2019, October 1). Preparing for climate chaos now: Q&A with disasterologist Dr. Samantha Montano.

Ologies Podcast. (2019, August 20). Disasterology (DISASTERS) with Dr. Samantha Montano.

Disasters Deconstructed Podcast. (2019, August 19). Disaster Myths.

The KEMA Podcast. (2019, August). Episode 19 - Interview with Dr. Samantha Montano. The KEMA Podcast. 

Dukes of Hazards Podcast. (2018, March 26). Women in Emergency Management.

PRI’s The World. (2017, September 27). The federal emergency response in Puerto Rico has been slow, and there's a long way to go.

America Adapts. (2016, September 25). Disaster management meets climate adaptation.

Selected Recorded Appearances