Rapid mapping in support of emergency response after earthquake events

Earthquakes and other sudden onset natural disasters require quick and efficient emergency response. Earth observation (EO) data can make a valuable contribution to emergency response efforts if provided within hours and at the most days after the event. Mechanisms like the International Charter Space and Major Disasters and the European GMES Emergency Response Service provide the necessary basis for an efficient and rapid provision of EO data and damage mapping. This paper provides an overview of earthquake damage assessment methodologies, their potential and their limitations in a rapid mapping context and outlines a methodology for casualty estimation. Two case studies—the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the 2011 Van (Turkey) earthquake—are presented, where DLR’s Center for satellite-based crisis information (ZKI) provided rapid damage maps using a team-based visual interpretation approach. Additionally, the application of a casualty estimation method in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake is outlined.

[1]  Masashi Matsuoka,et al.  LIDAR-based change detection of buildings in dense urban areas , 2004, IGARSS 2004. 2004 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[2]  J. Hoffmann,et al.  Mapping damage during the Bam (Iran) earthquake using interferometric coherence , 2007 .

[3]  Mustafa Turker,et al.  Detection of collapsed buildings caused by the 1999 Izmit, Turkey earthquake through digital analysis of post-event aerial photographs , 2004 .

[4]  Liang Cheng,et al.  Post-earthquake assessment of building damage degree using LiDAR data and imagery , 2008 .

[5]  Hannes Taubenböck,et al.  Risk reduction at the “Last-Mile”: an attempt to turn science into action by the example of Padang, Indonesia , 2012, Natural Hazards.

[6]  C. Yonezawa,et al.  Decorrelation of SAR data by urban damages caused by the 1995 Hyogoken-nanbu earthquake , 2001 .

[7]  Jun Hu,et al.  Retrieving three-dimensional coseismic displacements of the 2008 Gaize, Tibet earthquake from multi-path interferometric phase analysis , 2014, Natural Hazards.

[8]  Paolo Gamba,et al.  Earthquake damage assessment from post-event VHR radar data: From Sichuan, 2008 to Haiti, 2010 , 2011, 2011 Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event.

[9]  Nazzareno Pierdicca,et al.  Satellite radar and optical remote sensing for earthquake damage detection: results from different case studies , 2006 .

[10]  Christoph Aubrecht,et al.  Multi-level geospatial modeling of human exposure patterns and vulnerability indicators , 2012, Natural Hazards.

[11]  David J. Wald,et al.  Estimating Casualties for Large Earthquakes Worldwide Using an Empirical Approach , 2009 .

[12]  Carlos Sousa Oliveira,et al.  Assessing and Managing Earthquake Risk , 2006 .

[13]  Fabio Dell'Acqua,et al.  Rapid Damage Detection in the Bam Area Using Multitemporal SAR and Exploiting Ancillary Data , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[14]  Masashi Matsuoka,et al.  Use of Satellite SAR Intensity Imagery for Detecting Building Areas Damaged Due to Earthquakes , 2004 .

[15]  Keiko Saito,et al.  Rapid damage mapping using post-earthquake satellite images , 2004, IGARSS 2004. 2004 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[16]  Mustafa Turker,et al.  Building‐based damage detection due to earthquake using the watershed segmentation of the post‐event aerial images , 2008 .

[17]  M. Turker,et al.  Automatic detection of earthquake‐damaged buildings using DEMs created from pre‐ and post‐earthquake stereo aerial photographs , 2005 .

[18]  Lorenzo Bruzzone,et al.  Earthquake Damage Assessment of Buildings Using VHR Optical and SAR Imagery , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[19]  Lucien Wald,et al.  Object oriented assessment of damage due to natural disaster using very high resolution images , 2007, 2007 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[20]  Nazzareno Pierdicca,et al.  Comparing and combining the capability of detecting earthquake damages in urban areas using SAR and optical data , 2004, IGARSS 2004. 2004 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[21]  R. Reulke,et al.  Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences , 2005 .

[22]  Peter Reinartz,et al.  Detailed Damage Assessment After the Haiti Earthquake , 2013 .

[23]  Norman Kerle Remote Sensing Based Post-Disaster Damage Mapping – Ready for a Collaborative Approach? , 2011 .

[24]  David J. Wald,et al.  PAGER--Rapid assessment of an earthquake?s impact , 2007 .

[25]  Stéphane Hans,et al.  First European Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology , 2006 .

[26]  M. Matsuoka,et al.  Visual Damage Interpretation of Buildings in Bam City using QuickBird Images following the 2003 Bam, Iran, Earthquake , 2005 .

[27]  William J. Emery,et al.  Exploiting SAR and VHR Optical Images to Quantify Damage Caused by the 2003 Bam Earthquake , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[28]  André Twele,et al.  Rapid Damage Assessment and Situation Mapping: Learning from the 2010 Haiti Earthquake , 2011 .

[29]  H. Hayashi,et al.  DAMAGE INVENTORY ESTIMATION FOR LARGE SCALE EARTHQUAKE DISASTER ASSESSMENT USING NIGHT TIME CITY LIGHT , 2002 .

[30]  G. Bitelli,et al.  IMAGE CHANGE DETECTION ON URBAN AREA : THE EARTHQUAKE CASE , 2004 .

[31]  David J. Wald,et al.  Development of the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response) , 2008 .

[32]  X. Tong,et al.  Building-damage detection using pre- and post-seismic high-resolution satellite stereo imagery: A case study of the May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake , 2012 .

[33]  Charles K. Huyck,et al.  Object-Oriented Image Understanding and Post-Earthquake Damage Assessment for the 2003 Bam, Iran, Earthquake , 2005 .

[34]  L. Chiroiu,et al.  Advanced Techniques in Modelling, Response and Recovery , 2008 .

[35]  D. Al-Khudhairy,et al.  Structural Damage Assessments from Ikonos Data Using Change Detection, Object-Oriented Segmentation, and Classification Techniques , 2005 .

[36]  R. Spence,et al.  Using High-Resolution Satellite Images for Post-Earthquake Building Damage Assessment: A Study following the 26 January 2001 Gujarat Earthquake , 2004 .

[37]  C. Elvidge,et al.  Early damaged area estimation system using DMSP-OLS night-time imagery , 2004 .

[38]  Paolo Gamba,et al.  Segment-based urban block outlining in high-resolution SAR images , 2009, 2009 Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event.