Characterizing Community Formation in Response to Extreme Weather Events Through Human Mobility Networks: A Case Study of Winter Storm Uri

Abstract

Community formation in socio-spatial human networks is an important mechanism through which populations cope with and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather hazards. However, limited research has examined the latent network characteristics that shape community formation in human mobility networks during natural hazard-related disasters. In this study, we analyzed human mobility networks in Harris County, Texas, during the managed power outages associated with Winter Storm Uri in 2021 to detect communities and evaluate their underlying characteristics. Specifically, we examined three dimensions of the detected communities: hazard exposure heterophily, sociodemographic homophily, and social connectedness strength. The results show that population movements were shaped by sociodemographic homophily, heterophilic hazard exposure, and social connectedness strength. We also found that communities containing a larger share of high-impact areas tend to drive population movements toward areas with weaker social connectedness. These findings highlight key characteristics that shape community formation in human mobility networks during hazard response. More broadly, the findings suggest that power utility operators should account for the characteristics of socio-spatial human networks when designing managed power outage strategies.

Keywords

Community resilience / Complex network / Disaster response / Power outages / Social inequality

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