Mobile phone data and disaster response - Bangladesh

Mobile phones are becoming an increasingly important tool in disaster risk management, as they facilitate mass-alert systems and allow affected people to stay in touch with family, friends and their community. In addition to serving as a communication tool, mobile phone operators automatically record information about all mobile phones on their network. In anonymous format, this data may give valuable information on population displacement during and after a disaster, and the extent to which areas have suffered economically (through decreases in mobile spending and mobile top-ups). Cyclone Mahasen made landfall in southern Bangladesh on 16 May 2013. The infographic below depicts trends observed from mobile phone data during and after the disaster.

Related Subject(s): Human Rights and Refugees