ACCESSING THE EXTENT OF POWER OUTAGES USING NIGHTTIME LIGHT

Natural disasters often result in large-scale power outages. Real-time tracking of the extent, distribution, and timelines of electrical service loss and recovery can play an important role in minimizing disaster impacts. Using NASA's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB), the extent and duration of disrupted electric utility infrastructure in the Florida Panhandle following Hurricane Michael were estimated. The percent loss of electrical service was downscaled to a neighborhood level using the 2013-2017 American Community Survey (ACS) data at the block group level. Two ordinary least square models were estimated to examine the association between socioeconomic characteristics and the extent and duration of the power outages as well as recovery rates. The study found that block groups with higher percent minorities, multi-family housing units, rural areas, and a higher percentage of households receiving public assistance were experiencing slower power restoration rates than urban and more affluent neighborhoods. The findings have implications for disaster preparedness and recovery planning.