Multilayer networks characterize human-mobility patterns by industry sector for the 2021 Texas winter storm

Multilayer networks characterize human-mobility patterns by industry sector for the 2021 Texas winter storm | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Multilayer networks characterize human-mobility patterns by industry sector for the 2021 Texas winter storm Melissa Butler, Alisha Khan, Francis Afrifa, Yingjie Hu, Dane Taylor This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7482880/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Understanding human mobility during disastrous events is crucial for emergency planning and disaster management. Here, we develop a methodology involving the construction of time-varying, multilayer networks in which edges encode observed movements between spatial regions (census tracts) and network layers encode different movement categories according to industry sectors (e.g., visitations to schools, hospitals, and grocery stores). This approach provides a rich characterization of human mobility, thereby complementing studies examining the risk-aversion activities of evacuation and sheltering in place. Focusing on the 2021 Texas winter storm as a case study which led to many casualties, we find that people largely reduced their movements to ambulatory healthcare services, restaurants, and schools, but prioritized movements to grocery stores and gas stations. Additionally, we study the predictability of nodes’ in- and out-degrees in the multilayer networks, which encode movements into and out of census tracts. We find that inward movements are harder to predict than outward movements, and even more so during during this winter storm. Our findings about the reduction, prioritization, and predictability of sector-specific human movements could inform mobility-related decisions arising from future extreme weather events. Humanities/Complex networks Social science/Complex networks Scientific community and society/Geography Social science/Geography Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 09 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 03 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 22 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 07 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 01 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 29 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 28 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7482880","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":513229303,"identity":"f9c0e75b-6d0e-41d5-ab5d-5f996aff75ea","order_by":0,"name":"Melissa Butler","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAw0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCSB+wCBRzw/lMzYQoYWxIYHBIkGygUQtFQkGB4jVoju7x/xBQoVEnvGNHDOJDww2shsOENBidueMYUPCGYliM6AWyRkMacaEtdzIMWxIbJNg3HYjd5s0D8PhRCK1/JNg3DwDrOU/sVoaJBI3SIC1HCBCy51jhTMSjkkYS5x5/9lyhkGy8UyCWm43b/jwoaZOjr89LfHGhwo72T5CWpABiwSDAQnKQYD5A4kaRsEoGAWjYIQAAOh1SJR7DEIKAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Wyoming","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Melissa","middleName":"","lastName":"Butler","suffix":""},{"id":513229304,"identity":"d54d691a-26df-434b-9b0e-71af995bf993","order_by":1,"name":"Alisha Khan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Wyoming","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alisha","middleName":"","lastName":"Khan","suffix":""},{"id":513229305,"identity":"a66988b3-25de-426b-8cd5-991e6250cb36","order_by":2,"name":"Francis Afrifa","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Wyoming","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Francis","middleName":"","lastName":"Afrifa","suffix":""},{"id":513229306,"identity":"981d1482-04d0-4f4f-8254-c285105f30d1","order_by":3,"name":"Yingjie Hu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"SUNY Buffalo State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yingjie","middleName":"","lastName":"Hu","suffix":""},{"id":513229307,"identity":"a87f3ece-4c09-47c5-9f1d-5e21d401e40c","order_by":4,"name":"Dane Taylor","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Wyoming","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dane","middleName":"","lastName":"Taylor","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-28 19:08:08","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7482880/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7482880/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":91212963,"identity":"66c6294f-58dc-409c-9307-3c59bfe4de9d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-12 18:35:08","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":15229411,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MultilayerMobilityIndustrySector.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7482880/v1_covered_26057ae1-dc6d-45c9-97c4-2ddfc1e7886d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Multilayer networks characterize human-mobility patterns by industry sector for the 2021 Texas winter storm","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"npj-complex","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"npjcomplex","sideBox":"Learn more about [npj Complexity](https://www.nature.com/npjcomplex/)","snPcode":"44260","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/44260/3","title":"npj Complexity","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"NPJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7482880/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7482880/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Understanding human mobility during disastrous events is crucial for emergency planning and disaster management. 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