This file collects information related to Hurricane Dorian (2019), with a focus on data-related aspects of it. These notes developed out of a Dorian-specific section in emergency-response.md and are to be considered in the broader context of the information gathered in that file.
Dorian (over the Bahamas) in the context of the 2019 hurricane season on 2 September 2019. NOAA, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Dorian as seen from the International Space Station on 2 September 2019. By Christina Koch, NASA, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
These notes are very loosely sorted into some preliminary thematic complexes. They were initially roughly chronological but this is not the case any more. Knowing that emergency-related information is rather instable (not just but also on the web), I made an effort to archive the URLs listed here via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. So if any of the links in here do not work for you any more, you should be able to find a copy of the respective pages over there (unless the website's operator has disallowed web crawler access in their robots.txt or the page scraper timed out). As of September 10, I am in the process of reorganizing these notes into something a bit more structured and more easy to navigate and digest. Help with this is most welcome.
- Wikipedia: Hurricane Dorian (2019)
- Weather Channel (on September 8): Hurricane Dorian recap
- Columbia Journalism Review (September 5) How Bahamians have covered Dorian
- Columbia Journalism Review (September 4) The difficulties of covering Hurricane Dorian
Looking into how catastrophic events trigger openness was the reason why I started emergency-response.md, so let's put this first. I will likely transfer some of this back to the other file.
- When I started looking into this storm more closely throughout September 1, 2019, I found nothing particularly new in terms of openness so far but it was interesting to filter the feed by mentions of data.
- OpenStreetMap coordination page prepared on September 3
- actual coordination page
- actual mapping tasks (Abaco Islands 1 &2):
- in the media: After Hurricane Dorian, The 'Wikipedia Of Maps' Came To The Rescue
- actual coordination page
- open data from the EU's Copernicus satellites: https://twitter.com/CopernicusEU/status/1171010901153067008
- high-resolution commercial satellite data of the affected region provided for free by Maxar: https://twitter.com/Geospex/status/1170360410085777413
- call for digital responders using these open data: https://twitter.com/Fourhawaii/status/1169436661110804482
- background on their Open Data Program: https://twitter.com/tkodanaz/status/1171070237740916736
- OpenStreetMap coordination page prepared on September 3
In this section, I am listing some Dorian-related initiatives or activities that are more of a kind that is common in emergency contexts but not much about openness and thus haven't figured in the examples I have gathered in emergency-response.md so far
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Preparations
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waiving of smartphone data fees for some customers in affected areas
- "First responder customers with wireless priority service should utilize *272 when placing calls."
- similar in-kind offers from AT&T, Comcast, Uber
- or AirBnb
- more on that: https://twitter.com/Airbnb/status/1170115002721656833
- Uber service suspended in affected area
- Walmart
- Mobile carriers in Canada did it too
- https://twitter.com/NewGizmoBlog/status/1171877850703683585
- beware high bills after the disaster: https://twitter.com/NSConsumers/status/1171853575540170752
- Amazon https://twitter.com/JeffBezos/status/1171060934753734656
- or AirBnb
-
lots of clips from people in affected areas, but rarely under open licenses
-
premium access to data in weather app made free around Dorian
-
more footage:
- https://twitter.com/jeperego/status/1169125448372166661
- https://twitter.com/sociascience/status/1168970320889483264 (video of rotating cloud formation)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV-PLJq4HD4 (from Abaco)
-
reconnaissance aircraft
- overview of the kinds of data collected
- some other perspectives on data integration
- essential apps
- diversity of data sources
- more on this in https://www.msn.com/en-us/Weather/topstories/why-dorian-stalled-out-over-the-bahamas/ar-AAGLbuZ?ocid=st
-
"National Weather Service forecasts build on models and real-time observations collected from offices throughout the country. Twice a day, McNatt said, 92 weather stations across North America and the Pacific, plus 10 stations in the Caribbean release weather balloons into the atmosphere. Those balloons collect data on temperature, wind speed, humidity, and pressure for the NWS. "
-
- more on this in https://www.msn.com/en-us/Weather/topstories/why-dorian-stalled-out-over-the-bahamas/ar-AAGLbuZ?ocid=st
- 3D Climateviewer
- some other perspectives on data integration
- footage
- https://twitter.com/NOAA_HurrHunter/status/1168365343103959040
- https://twitter.com/wxlada/status/1168276946150727681
- https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/403w
- a while ago, I have seen footage on YouTube of such a plane crossing the eye of a hurricane — have to dig that out
- data loss
- gender balance
- overview of the kinds of data collected
-
drones
- interdictions, e.g. https://twitter.com/AeroSpaceNews/status/1168633009437732865
- for preparedness, e.g.
- in the aftermath, e.g. https://twitter.com/giocastilhos/status/1168637405433188352
-
pilots volunteering to fly over to affected areas
- e.g. https://twitter.com/MelindaLeeWINK/status/1168645474859008000 or https://twitter.com/feelgoodflorida/status/1168857212585959426
- requests for volunteer pilots, e.g. https://twitter.com/BULLYNOT2U/status/1168643948476346368
- e.g. https://twitter.com/MelindaLeeWINK/status/1168645474859008000 or https://twitter.com/feelgoodflorida/status/1168857212585959426
-
rescue pilot operations
-
comments on equity, e.g. "We now have the science to help predict what's coming, but not everybody has the means to evacuate."
-
declarations of a state of emergency
-
Virginia
- https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/all-releases/2019/september/headline-846244-en.html
- emergency preparedness plan
- hurricane preparedness
- hurricane evacuation guide
- evacuation zone lookup
- emergency supply kits
- see also tweets on Dorian and Virginia
- https://twitter.com/MikeTFox5/status/1169811078659883009
- forecasts for Virginia
- activation of the National Guard
- waste colletion
- resilience adaptation initiative
- https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/all-releases/2019/september/headline-846244-en.html
-
lots of other comments on earlier ones for other places closer to the eye of the storm
- including questioning why certain areas had declared an emergency and others had not
-
e-scooters
-
urgency
-
typos
-
maps
-
https://twitter.com/O535592636453O/status/1168726610943475713
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map errors
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e.g. https://twitter.com/ALostrich/status/1168231429920219137
-
data visualization
- "Fantastic virtual/augmented/immersive reality visualization": https://twitter.com/DavidRosowsky/status/1168994551169765378
- timeline of Dorian predictions
- evolution of Dorian over the course of its initial 8 days:
- https://twitter.com/manelrodero/status/1168611726193045509
- https://twitter.com/StuOstro/status/1171482464679686148
- https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/1171395300390424577
- similar for 7 days: https://twitter.com/WHEC_SPensgen/status/1169811179281223680
- similar for a more extended period: https://twitter.com/UN_JWFOWLER/status/1171105006101192704
- evolution while over the Bahamas https://twitter.com/capitalweather/status/1168658747658555393
- evolution of wind fields https://twitter.com/GPapavasileiou4/status/1169401036475424768
- tweets about Dorian over time by verified Twitter accounts: https://twitter.com/jasonbaumgartne/status/1170843846714023936
- comparison of predicted versus actual path of the storm: https://twitter.com/watkinstrack/status/1170203128412680192
- using social media data to monitor displacement of affected populations
- ocean currents https://twitter.com/maracoos/status/1172166046633119746
-
satellite data that users can overlay with geomaps
-
satellite imagery of Earth showing Dorian and three other tropical storm systems: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dorian,_Fernand,_Gabrielle_and_Juliette_2019-09-02_1700Z.jpg
-
discussion of visualization versus actual photos and how they can be leveraged together to help people get a better understanding of the storm and its effects, with comments on how to build a navigation app that takes into account roads closed due to flooding
-
misinterpretation of data visualizations, e.g. as per https://boingboing.net/2019/08/29/why-hurricane-maps-do-a-terrib.html
- more on this "cone of uncertainty" chart: https://junkcharts.typepad.com/junk_charts/2019/09/as-dorian-confounds-meteorologists-we-keep-our-minds-clear-on-hurricane-graphics-and-discover-correl.html
- includes pointer to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04QRN5gUe08
- more on this "cone of uncertainty" chart: https://junkcharts.typepad.com/junk_charts/2019/09/as-dorian-confounds-meteorologists-we-keep-our-minds-clear-on-hurricane-graphics-and-discover-correl.html
-
why Dorian stayed over the Bahamas for so long: https://twitter.com/gwccwx/status/1168754298936840192
- more on this in https://www.msn.com/en-us/Weather/topstories/why-dorian-stalled-out-over-the-bahamas/ar-AAGLbuZ?ocid=st
-
"Basically, the winds that typically steer a hurricane along fell apart at the same time that the storm landed over the Bahamas. "
-
- more on this in https://www.msn.com/en-us/Weather/topstories/why-dorian-stalled-out-over-the-bahamas/ar-AAGLbuZ?ocid=st
-
- seen via this tweet
-
disaster relief gaming
-
search and rescue
- digital search for missing people
- via digital images https://twitter.com/Bahamaspress/status/1168419466058829829
- via digital forms asking for location and other details of the missing/ isolated people https://twitter.com/nemabahamas/status/1168364547989790721
- via Google doc (mobile/desktop — http://bit.ly/bahamaspersonsfound ) containing names of missing people and checkmarks if they have been found
- tweet
- with some initial results: https://twitter.com/ai6yrham/status/1170438001668677633
- updated figures https://twitter.com/ai6yrham/status/1171763979615494144 (Sep 11)
- via an initially non-public Facebook group that was later made public: https://www.facebook.com/groups/529794051099366/about/
- now via a dedicated website (archive)
- switched to HTTPS: https://dorianpeoplesearch.com/relief-organizations/
- now via a dedicated website (archive)
- via digital apps https://twitter.com/Acanthe20/status/1168599277897170944
- tweets listing people confirmed safe:
- on-grounds search and rescue
- digital search for missing people
-
hurricane nomenclature:
- https://twitter.com/arrdfe25/status/1168729957666885633
- source of the image: https://www.weather.gov/srh/tropical (archived)
- "peak of the hurricane season"? https://twitter.com/kellycass/status/1168858271144402944
- some similar perspectives
- https://twitter.com/arrdfe25/status/1168729957666885633
-
aftermath
- counting the losses
- https://twitter.com/firstpost/status/1171635805602930694
- damage to nature (with drone footage)
- using satellite data and high-resolution modeling
- https://twitter.com/saunsea/status/1171628758408675328
- https://twitter.com/grumpyoldtechie/status/1171623639994839040
- oil spill
- cell coverage more available than water
- along the US East Coast
- aerial damage assessment
- resilience in the Bahamas
- lessons learned
- from previous hurricanes: https://twitter.com/Miguel_Guirao/status/1171440385337356289
- from Dorian: https://twitter.com/EcoInternetDrGB/status/1171614095964917760
- https://twitter.com/drpavito1/status/1168686044784603136
- https://twitter.com/Rankinstudio/status/1168881359781163008
- airline cancellations https://twitter.com/srbija_eu/status/1169128067459162112
- before/ after images along the East Coast; https://twitter.com/marczak_rob/status/1171115505907843072
- cancellations of blood donations
- interview / podcast about Dorian in the Bahamas
- cannonball washed ashore
- https://twitter.com/RichbergLaw/status/1171613073527980032
- https://abc11.com/weather/civil-war-cannonballs-found-on-sc-beach-after-hurricane-dorian/5528611/
-
"Following 2016's Hurricane Matthew, 16 cannonballs washed up at the same beach."
-
- https://abc11.com/weather/civil-war-cannonballs-found-on-sc-beach-after-hurricane-dorian/5528611/
- https://twitter.com/RichbergLaw/status/1171613073527980032
- Canada:
- counting the losses
-
relationship to climate change
- https://twitter.com/Wingtags/status/1171514021779894275
- https://twitter.com/NRDC/status/1171513714228387841
- see also https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/greenland-is-approaching-the-threshold-of-an-irreversible-melt-and-the-consequences-for-coastal-cities-could-be-dire-974b963f45
- https://twitter.com/AlyceeLane/status/1171647312705310720
- Twitter thread http://web.archive.org/save/https://twitter.com/KHayhoe/status/1032658784127266816
- https://twitter.com/sherzadharis/status/1171631141062873089
- https://twitter.com/Guest_Posts_SEO/status/1171635247970168833
- https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1171553603858960384
- https://twitter.com/vivianharris45/status/1171626343433302016
- https://twitter.com/DNThomas01/status/1171622013082984448
- https://twitter.com/vivianharris45/status/1171621992656769024
- https://twitter.com/jezzaruni/status/1172024444589629440
- https://twitter.com/pmagn/status/1172026431464857600
-
Hampton University "to offer free tuition, room & board to displaced students from [University of the Bahamas]"
- announcement tweet https://twitter.com/HBCUDigest/status/1169636612793425921
- Thank you tweet from University of the Bahamas https://twitter.com/University_Bah/status/1169646989769940999
- NYT: "A Virginia University Offers Free Semester to Students in Bahamas Displaced by Hurricane"
- The Hill:
-
Visa & immigration issues
-
donations
- legit
- https://twitter.com/WCKitchen/status/1168336428864102401
- https://twitter.com/EllenYChang/status/1168569483444858880
- https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=7485#at_pco=smlwn-1.0&at_si=5d6d4dde3155d0db&at_ab=per-2&at_pos=0&at_tot=1
- http://dorianpeoplesearch.com/relief-organisations/
- https://twitter.com/IMC_Worldwide/status/1171616356883730433
- matching funds
- numerous companies, countless individuals have given
- fake
- legit
-
insurance matters
- https://twitter.com/amruthasuri/status/1171647575935586304
- https://twitter.com/Growlinggreeng1/status/1171642678133567489
- post-disaster disasters due to looting
-
education
- storm surge
- Visualization of wind speeds in an area https://twitter.com/blueraster/status/1168933523924889603
- intended for monitoring fires but can be used for monitoring hurricanes as well
- winter storm archive: https://twitter.com/webberweather/status/1123712965969104901
-
Pets
-
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q67178691
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpiegate
- it's illegal to alter official maps
- summaries of the course of events
- https://twitter.com/wxdam/status/1169308075662151680
- http://web.archive.org/web/20190910053208/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/sep/09/trump-news-today-latest-mark-sanford-north-carolina-washington
- http://web.archive.org/web/20190910053437/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-worked-for-the-noaa-weather-forecasting-should-never-be-political/2019/09/09/0045efe4-d340-11e9-9343-40db57cf6abd_story.html?noredirect=on
- http://web.archive.org/web/20190910053944/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/opinion/trump-democracy.html?smid=tw-nytopinion&smtyp=cur
- https://twitter.com/coachjer421/status/1169343787216228352
- https://twitter.com/andrew_mullet_/status/1171654500899328000
- how to lie with maps
- NOAA-internal investigation announced over questions regarding scientific integrity
- White House involvement
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#DorianJeep https://twitter.com/NYTNational/status/1170684222979395584