Mobile and Home Evacuee Assistance System (MHEAS)

A research project exploring how disaster-response systems can better identify and support people who remain outside official evacuation centres after major events such as earthquakes and cyclones. 

People may stay in cars, damaged homes, or with relatives when shelters are full, inaccessible, or unsuitable. Although they may be physically safe, they can become invisible to formal response systems and miss access to information, supplies, and welfare support. 

MHEAS investigates how technology, community networks, and more resilient information-sharing approaches can help responders understand where hidden evacuees are and what support they need.

After a major earthquake or cyclone, not everyone goes to an official evacuation centre. Some people remain in their cars, stay with relatives, or continue living in partially damaged homes. These people are increasingly described as hidden evacuees. 

Most formal disaster-response systems rely heavily on registration at evacuation centres to estimate affected populations, allocate resources, and organise welfare support. As a result, people outside these centres can become difficult for authorities and support organisations to see. 

MHEAS investigates this gap by examining hidden evacuees not as a single group, but as people facing different circumstances, needs, and barriers to accessing support. The project explores how new approaches to information sharing, community participation, and digital technologies could help create more inclusive and resilient disaster-response systems.