The movement pattern changes of population following a disaster: Example of the Aegean Sea earthquake of October 2020

Unexpected seismic events can have a significant impact on our daily lives. Examining post-disaster population movement patterns contributes to disaster response and recovery operations. While most studies analyze population movement or displacement data, only a few examine multi-level movement patterns and consider public transportation demand. This paper aims to analyze changes in movement patterns following a major earthquake that severely affected & Idot;zmir in T & uuml;rkiye, mainly using movement data from the Data for Good platform of Meta. According to the findings, on the first day following the earthquake, those traveling within & Idot;zmir considered the areas least damaged to be safer, despite the higher seismic intensity. The timeframe alignment between aftershock activity and the number of people traveling within & Idot;zmir suggests the routine movement pattern within the city was regained as the aftershocks decreased day by day. Unlike intra-city travel routines, there was an increase in the number of people moving to summer houses, located far from the center of & Idot;zmir. By November 2, 2020, three days after the earthquake, intra-city movements reached a new normal, as confirmed by public transportation use. However, intra-city travel patterns were impacted for approximately one month. This study reveals key findings from the evaluation of post-earthquake movements to improve disaster management decision making and aid crisis response and recovery operations.