Mobility disruption and recovery in southwest Florida’s elderly-dense communities during Hurricane Ian

Abstract

Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm that struck Florida’s southwest coast, resulted in 156 fatalities, with two-thirds of the victims being seniors. This highlights the need to address disaster risks for this vulnerable population. This study utilizes anonymized and privacy enhanced mobile phone GPS data to examine mobility disruptions and recovery patterns during Hurricane Ian in southwest Florida, a region with a substantial senior population. It fulfills three objectives: (i) to assess the hurricane’s impact on mobility across different phases of the storm, (ii) to analyze recovery patterns, and (iii) to identify key factors influencing mobility disruptions, recovery, and resilience in elderly-dense communities. The findings indicate that, despite significant disruptions, essential mobility connections remained intact, though some areas continued to struggle even three months after landfall. Socioeconomic and geographic factors were found to influence mobility disruptions, prolonged recovery, and resilience, offering valuable insights for improving disaster planning in elderly-dense communities.