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Evacuees Do Not Simply Choose the Nearest Safe Place

Marshall Fire mobility data found people moving toward socially familiar communities, with unequal access.

Published Updated Story ID: mp-2026-07-17-007
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Summary

Marshall Fire mobility data found people moving toward socially familiar communities, with unequal access.

NYU Tandon analyzed more than 200,000 anonymized devices. Evacuees often traveled 20 to 60 kilometers toward demographically familiar communities rather than simply the nearest safe place. Wealthier and whiter residents had wider access. One fire and incomplete device coverage limit generalization.

Why it matters

Marshall Fire mobility data found people moving toward socially familiar communities, with unequal access.

Limits and context

No additional limitation was separately recorded.

Key claims

  1. Marshall Fire mobility data found people moving toward socially familiar communities, with unequal access.

    Evidence: source-2026-07-17-007

Sources

  1. NYU Tandon via Newswise: Familiar evacuation destinationsNYU Tandon via Newswise · secondary reporting

Corrections

No corrections have been recorded for this story.