![]() ![]() While FEMA can track and map applications for disaster relief related to Hurricane Maria, this is dependent entirely on those fleeing disaster to reach out to the US government for help. This means those who left and returned to Puerto Rico prior to the survey being conducted would never be accounted for, leaving room for a very large margin of error. While the American Community Survey (ACS) and the Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) of the US Census Bureau each track state-to-state migration on an annual basis, they use limited sample sizes and are conducted only once annually. As a result of the hurricane and its longer-lasting impacts, upwards of 3,000 Puerto Ricans lost their lives, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in US history. Those who stayed on the island through the disaster were left with limited access to basic necessities like food, water, and medicine and much of the island was left without power for months. It was the third costliest disaster in US history. Maria devastated the island, dropping as much as 38 inches of rain in some areas, knocking out nearly 80% of the island’s power lines and costing around $95 billion in damage. On Septemat around 6:15 am, Hurricane Maria touched down in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph sustained winds. Mapping Puerto Rico’s Real-Time Migration Patterns Before, During, and After Hurricane Maria However, more data could help governmental entities better prepare for and serve those seeking shelter. There is no easy way to prepare for the movement and displacement of people during major disasters. Many cities also struggle to keep up with the demand for housing as tens of thousands of new residents move in, seemingly overnight in some cases. School systems are forced to pack their classrooms with more children, public transit systems take on more riders, and poverty rates increase as those who lost everything are forced to start over with limited jobs available to support everyone. Migration trackers can only estimate where and how many people move.Īs people move away from areas struck by disaster, the local and state governments of their new homes can become overwhelmed by the influx of new residents. Image from the Global Report on International Displacement 2018Īs demonstrated post-Katrina, accurately tracking the large migration patterns before, during and after a disaster is nearly impossible, especially as more hurricanes and other natural disasters pile on. In total, 18.8 million were displaced globally due to natural disasters. To this day, no one really knows for sure the full extent of the displacement from Katrina as the US Census Bureau and others struggle to adequately track such a large pattern of migration.Īccording to the Global Report on International Displacement 2018, just under 1.7 million Americans were displaced due to natural disasters in 2017, ranking fourth in the world behind China (4.5 million), the Phillipines (2.5 million), and Cuba (1.74 million). Hurricane Katrina alone forced 400,000 residents from their homes with many unable to ever return as clean up and rebuilding continues more than a decade later. Hundreds of thousands, even millions, have been forced to relocate, some temporarily and some permanently, as their hometowns lay in ruin. Americans have lost their homes, their jobs and their lives or the lives of their loved ones. While studies have shown that hurricanes have had minimal impact on the broader US economy, they have come at a high cost to individual American families. This trend is projected to get worse in the coming years. Of the ten costliest disasters in US history, seven have been hurricanes with six of those occurring in the last 14 years. Over the last several decades in the US, very powerful hurricanes have slammed coastal states and territories, disrupting lives, business, and government at enormous costs. As global temperatures have risen, the intensity of hurricanes has risen as well, particularly in the North Atlantic basin. Hurricanes are wreaking havoc across the globe, hitting coastal areas and islands with unprecedented power. Crowdsourced data from satellite imagery (OpenStreetMap). Goals: Track the mass migration flows of Puerto Ricans before, during and after Hurricane Maria (Teralytics) and provide emergency responders with constantly updated maps of Puerto Rico’s landscape to aid recovery efforts (OpenStreetMap)ĭatasets: Cell phone data from a sample of 500,000 Puerto Ricans from an undisclosed cell phone carrier (Teralytics). Maps: Teralytics Mass Migration Tracker and OpenStreetMap ![]()
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