Washington, D.C. ? A Florida official well-versed in hurricane response is President Barack Obama’s choice to head the federal Emergency Management Agency, which was the focus of national ridicule after Hurricane Katrina left New Orleans and parts of the Gulf Coast in tatters.

The nominee, Craig Fugate, 49, currently is the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

In his home state, Fugate has been at the center of efforts to deal with hurricanes and wildfires. He has also been a vocal critic of the agency he was picked to lead, describing FEMA in an interview last year as “broken.”