Can Cell Phone Data Change How We Prepare For Natural Disasters? UT-Arlington Researcher Will Find Out

Arlington TX

31 January, 2022

6:12 PM

Description

By Haley Samsel, Fort Worth Report January 31, 2022 In the latest installment of our occasional conversations with Tarrant County newsmakers, UT-Arlington civil engineering professor Michelle Hummel explains how crowdsourced data – including cell phone location data and neighborhood reports submitted through a smartphone app – could help historically underserved communities plan for natural disasters. She is testing the strategy in Gulfport, Mississippi, which has experienced flooding challenges with hurricanes and the construction of retail and housing developments. Hummel's research project is funded by the National Science Foundation and will involve assistance from UT-Arlington professor Ramez Elmasri as well as researchers at the University of California at San Francisco and the Institute for Sustainable Economic, Educational & Environmental Design. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.