Al Shaw
Al Shaw is a Senior News Application Developer at ProPublica.
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Al Shaw is a Senior News Application Developer at ProPublica. He uses data and interactive graphics to cover environmental issues, natural disasters and politics.
A year before Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston, Shaw was part of a team that produced “Hell and High Water,” which warned of the region's vulnerability to coastal storms. The project won a Peabody Award in 2017. Shaw's project, “Losing Ground,” about the century-long erosion of Louisiana's coast won a Gold Medal from the Society for News Design. His interactive maps surrounding FEMA's response to Hurricane Sandy were honored with the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi award. Before joining ProPublica, Shaw was a designer/developer at the political news website Talking Points Memo.
How the Army Corps’ Hesitation Nearly Destroyed a City
When the worst flood in nearly a century hit Cairo, Illinois, in 2011, the Army Corps waited before following an emergency plan designed to save a city of 2,800 people. See how that week unfolded and the delays and indecision that cost millions in avoidable damage.
To See How Levees Increase Flooding, We Built Our Own
We ran water through a room-sized river model to show how levees can make flooding worse. Try it yourself.
Flood Thy Neighbor: Who Stays Dry and Who Decides?
One Missouri town’s levee saga captures what's wrong with America's approach to controlling rivers.
How You Can Use Trump Town
Look through thousands of records on Trump administration appointees. Here’s how you can use them in your research.
New Model Shows Towns on the Wrong Side of an Illinois Levee District Are Treading Water
By building up their own flood protections, some communities have ensured they would be less affected by future floods, while their neighbors would fare worse.
How Overbuilt Levees Along the Upper Mississippi River Push Floods Onto Others
A new analysis of government data shows how levee districts that have raised their levees without federal permits would be better protected against future flooding, while those that follow the rules would see extra flooding.
How We Compiled Trump Town
We assembled an authoritative database of the people appointed to government positions by the Trump administration. Here’s how we did it.
What We Found in Trump’s Drained Swamp: Hundreds of Ex-Lobbyists and D.C. Insiders
For the first time, political appointee and federal financial disclosure information is publicly searchable.
One Night on a Private Garbage Truck in New York City
New York’s residential trash is hauled away by the city, but private companies collect trash thrown away by businesses. Every night, an army of private trucks zig-zag across the city, making hundreds of stops each.
How Harvey Hurt Houston, in 10 Maps
The city got two “100-year” storms in the two years before Harvey made landfall. All three storms flooded thousands of houses, many outside of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood plains.