Tracing Maria's Wake

Early on September 20th, Hurricane Maria made landfall on the island of Puerto Rico, destroying critical infrastructure and leaving millions of Americans without power, roads, or clean water. Anonymized data from our traffic sensor network gives unique insight into this humanitarian crisis by revealing patterns in the mobility of the island's residents. Prior to the hurricane, regional movement patterns reflect the day-to-day routines on the island, such as morning and evening rush hours, during which commuters travel to and from work. After Maria's destruction, movement on the island ceases for several days. Lack of electricty, communication networks, and driveable roads make recovery slow: even three weeks after the storm, regional mobility is primarily limited to the capital city of San Juan and is at only a fraction of pre-storm levels.

Explore the patterns in mobility. Use your arrow keys to move forward and backwards through time, or click on a point in the timeline to navigate there.