Hurricane Florence tears through North Carolina internet infrastructure

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Real-time Internet-scale measurements by the NetBlocks network observatory have shown in unprecedented detail the progress of Hurricane Florence as it knocks hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses offline.

Measurements taken from a sample of 10,000,000 U.S. network addresses show landfall of the storm, and progression of power and internet outages as flooding takes hold. As seen in the NetBlocks live reachability heatmap visualization, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Jacksonville, Morehead City, Whiteville and Florence have taken a particular hit as the tropical storm and subsequent flooding take their toll.

Data also indicate a less marked drop in connectivity prior to landfall, which can be attributed to evacuations and efforts to secure infrastructure in anticipation of the weather event.

In 2017, the NetBlocks real-time observatory tracked Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, informing local emergency efforts.

Data from U.S. weather events correlated with published U.S. statistical data has helped calibrate the NetBlocks platform so it can more accurately assess freedom of expression and access to knowledge around the world.

Methodology

NetBlocks diffscans, which map the IP address space of a country in real time, show internet connectivity levels and corresponding outages. Purposeful internet outages may have a distinct network pattern used by NetBlocks to determine and attribute the root cause of an outage, a process known as attribution which follows detection and classification stages.

NetBlocks is an internet monitor working at the intersection of digital rights, cyber-security and internet governance. Independent and non-partisan, NetBlocks strives to deliver a fair and inclusive digital future for all.

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