Huddling with Families after Disaster: Human Resilience and Social Disparity

30 Pages Posted: 3 Aug 2021 Last revised: 7 Dec 2022

See all articles by Weiguang Wang

Weiguang Wang

Johns Hopkins University

Natasha Zhang Foutz

University of Virginia

Guodong (Gordon) Gao

Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School

Date Written: July 23, 2021

Abstract

Disasters, from hurricanes to pandemics, tremendously impact human lives and behaviors. Physical closeness with family post-disaster plays a critical role in mental healing and societal sustainability. Nonetheless, little is known about whether and how family colocation alters after a disaster, a topic of immense importance to a post-disaster society. We analyze 1 billion records of population-scale, granular, individual-level mobile location data to quantify family colocation, and examine the magnitude, dynamics, duration, and socioeconomic heterogeneity of the shift in family colocation from the pre- to post-disaster period. Leveraging Hurricane Florence as a natural experiment, and Geographic Information System (GIS), machine learning, and statistical methods to investigate the shift across the landfall (treated) city of Wilmington, three partially treated cites on the hurricane’s path, and two control cities off the path, we uncover dramatic (18.9%), widespread (even across partially treated cities), and enduring (over 3 months) escalations in family colocation. These findings reveal the powerful psychological and behavioral impact of the disaster upon broader populations, and simultaneously remarkable human resilience via behavioral adaptation during disastrous times. Importantly, the disaster created a gap across socioeconomic groups non-existent beforehand, with the disadvantaged displaying weaker lifts in family colocation. This sheds important lights on policy-making and communication to promote sustainable family colocation, healthy coping strategies against traumatic experiences, social parity, and societal recovery.

Keywords: family colocation, disaster, location big data, machine learning, GIS, statistical analysis

Suggested Citation

Wang, Weiguang and Foutz, Natasha Zhang and Gao, Guodong (Gordon), Huddling with Families after Disaster: Human Resilience and Social Disparity (July 23, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3892399 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3892399

Weiguang Wang (Contact Author)

Johns Hopkins University ( email )

Baltimore, MD 20036-1984
United States

Natasha Zhang Foutz

University of Virginia ( email )

1400 University Ave
Charlottesville, VA 22903
United States
4349240873 (Phone)
22904 (Fax)

Guodong (Gordon) Gao

Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School ( email )

100 International Drive
Baltimore, MD 21202
United States

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