Mobility Inequity and Risk Response After Hurricane Helene: Evidence from Real-Time Travel and Social Sentiment Data

2026-01-10

arXiv.org

AI Summary

This study investigates how social and geographic inequalities shape individual mobility patterns in the aftermath of hurricane disasters, with a focus on the mechanisms limiting mobility among vulnerable populations. Leveraging anonymous GPS trajectories from six southeastern U.S. states following Hurricane Helene’s landfall, county-level hurricane intensity metrics, and social media sentiment data, the research uniquely integrates real-time mobility and public affective responses. Using robust linear and ordered logistic regression models, the analysis reveals that communities with higher proportions of low-income residents, rural populations, and Black individuals experienced the most pronounced declines in mobility. Furthermore, positive social sentiment is associated with greater post-disaster mobility, highlighting the joint influence of socioeconomic status, racial composition, and public emotion on mobility disparities. These findings underscore the critical role of structural inequities in shaping emergency response outcomes.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Humans and AI: AI for Accessibility

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Fairness-aware retrieval and ranking
• Social Networks and Social Media: Fairness and bias in social network and social media analysis
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: The sharing economy

Abstract

Hurricanes severely disrupt infrastructure and restrict access to essential services. While the physical impacts on post-disaster mobility are well studied, less is known about how individual travel behaviors change during and after disasters, and how these responses are shaped by social and geographic disparities. This study examines mobility patterns following Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that struck six southeastern U.S. states on September 26, 2024, causing over 230 fatalities. Using anonymized GPS mobility data, hurricane severity metrics, and county-level social media sentiment, we examine shifts in travel behavior and their implications for equity. We ask two questions: How do post-hurricane mobility patterns reflect community vulnerability and adaptive capacity? and How do sociodemographic conditions and public sentiment factors shape the direction and extent of mobility change? Results from robust linear and ordered logistic regressions indicate that evacuation orders increase mobility; however, severe storm conditions, particularly high wind speeds, can limit travel. Communities with lower incomes, located in rural areas, and with higher percentages of Black populations exhibit the steepest declines in mobility, suggesting resource constraints and infrastructural barriers, while wealthier, urban, and higher-education areas maintain greater flexibility. Results also show that positive social sentiment is associated with higher mobility and a greater likelihood of increased travel during the hurricane. Our findings highlight the need to address structural barriers and social conditions in post-disaster mobility and disaster response.

Problem

• mobility inequity
• disaster response
• social disparities
• hurricane
• travel behavior

Innovation

• mobility equity
• disaster response
• social sentiment
• real-time mobility data
• sociodemographic disparity