October 13, 2022 | 1600 EDT
El Salvador
This report highlights changes in population densities as of October 13, 2022 along the west coast of El Salvador, where destruction from Tropical Storm Julia is most severe.
Key Observations:
- Population densities in the several areas along the west coast of El Salvador continued to rise at the time of analysis (October 13, 2022). Population levels have increased since the last period of analysis on October 12, indicating that there is a steady stream of return of people temporarily displaced by the storm.
- Despite rising densities in the areas located inland from the western coastline and in the southern region of the country, populations along the coast line are still below baseline levels. Even though these areas are below baseline values, they have shown increased densities since our previous reports on October 10, when displacement was at its peak.
Nicaragua, Western Coastline
This report highlights changes in population densities as of October 13, 2022 along the west coast of Nicaragua, where destruction caused by Tropical Storm Julia was most severe.
Key Observations:
- Populations in the area of analysis continue to rise to (or near) baseline population levels taken prior to Tropical Storm Julia’s landfall in Nicaragua.
- Similarly to previous reports, the city of Rivas still shows a population density well below baseline values. However, the percentage decrease from baseline is less than our previous report on October 12, 2022.
- Population levels increased in level 1 administrative units where displacement was most severe after Julia’s landfall.
October 12, 2022 | 1600 EDT
El Salvador
This report highlights changes in population densities as of October 12, 2022 along the west coast of El Salvador, where Tropical Storm Julia first made landfall in the country.
Key Observations:
- Populations began to rise in the areas most affected by the tropical storm, indicating that people are returning to their original locations after being temporarily displaced.
- Population densities along the western coastline are still below baseline values prior to landfall. However, these areas showed increasing densities compared to the previous report published on October 10, 2022, when displacement was at its peak.
- Population densities identified from Facebook data remains high in the top level 1 administrative unites with the biggest population drop, indicating the patterns detected are highly reliable.
Nicaragua, Western Coastline
This report highlights changes in population densities as of October 12, 2022 along the west coast of Nicaragua, where destruction caused by Tropical Storm Julia was most severe.
Key Observations:
- Population densities in most level 1 administrative units of Nicaragua continued to rise to — or near — the baseline population values prior to landfall at the time of analysis.
- Rivas, Nicaragua still showed a population density significantly below its pre-landfall levels.
- Populations in the other areas along the country’s western coastline have returned to — or near — baseline population values.
October 11, 2022 | 1600 EDT
El Salvador, Western Coastline
As of the night of October 11, 2022, most areas of El Salvador that were directly impacted by Hurricane Julia have returned to baseline population levels. This report highlights trends in population movement patterns as rescue organizations scramble to respond to the destruction caused by Hurricane Julia.
Key Observations:
- Significant numbers of reduced populations could be detected in areas around the capital city San Salvador, (-3%), Antiguo Custalacan (-4%), as well as the smaller surrounding towns in the La Libertad district.
Nicaragua, Caribbean Coast
This report highlights population density change from baseline along the west coast of Nicaragua during the peak of displacement.
Key Observations:
- Population densities in the majority of level 1 admin units in Nicaragua have risen to nearly baseline population levels, which were recorded prior to the storm’s landfall.
- Rivas, a city in southwestern Nicaragua, showed population values significantly below the pre-landfall levels at the time of analysis.
- As of October 11, populations in other coastal regions have returned to — or near — pre-event baseline levels.
October 10, 2022 | 1600 EDT
Northern & South-Central El Salvador
This report highlights changes in population densities in northern and south-central regions of El Salvador during the peak of displacement. Specific areas of focus include Usulutan, La Paz, La Libertad, and Sonsonate.
Key Observations:
- Decreases in population densities were significant across the north-central and south-central regions of El Salvador, especially in areas along the west coast.
- Usulutan, La Paz, La Libertad, and Sonsonate saw the most significant declines in population densities at the time of analysis.
- Population densities in this region have since began to increase as of October, 11.
Southwest El Salvador
Hurricane Julia made its way up the western coast of El Salvador on October 10, 2022, affecting a number of coastal regions. This report highlights changes in population densities after Julia made landfall.
Key Observations:
- Areas showing significant population declines at the time of analysis include the near-coastal areas of Alegria, Concepcion Batres, Berlin, Jucaran, and Tecapan. All of these areas saw declines between 25% and 38% on October 9 and 10.
- Representativeness of Facebook population in Alegria in particular is relatively high, including nearly 10% of the local population in the baseline sample.
October 9, 2022 | 1600 EDT
West Coast Nicaragua & Central America
Hurricane Julia made landfall on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua early on Sunday, October 9 as a Category 1 Storm. At the time of landfall, the storm had sustained winds of 85 mph when it moved onshore near Laguna de Perlas around 1:15 AM (GMT-6). As of October 10, Julia has been downgraded to a tropical storm.
This report provides an overview of population density changes from baseline numbers after the hurricane made landfall. A more granular view of population movement in Nicaragua can be found here. A report with Admin Level 3 data can be found here.
