Comparison of damage assessment maps derived from very high spatial resolution satellite and aerial imagery of the Haiti 2010 earthquake impact area

Following the devastating M7.2 earthquake that affected Haiti on January 12, 2010 two types of building damage assessments were produced: 1) area-based damage assessments based on pre- and post-event satellite imagery and 2) a detailed building-by-building, point-based, damage assessments using pre-event satellite imagery and post-event aerial photography. In this paper, we compare the consistency and the usability of area-based damage assessment maps from satellite imagery to the detailed point-based damage assessment from aerial data. Our main objective is to understand how the ¿rapid mapping¿ output can be used to steer the more detailed building-by-building assessments that are typical in determining post-disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts. The results of these experiments indicate that area-based damage assessment maps using satellite data are capable of capturing the damage pattern, mainly in areas with a high level of damaged and collapsed structures. However, satellite-based assessments cannot provide the level of information needed for the quantification of damage intensity. The detailed aerial photography data is better suited for obtaining absolute figures on the number of damaged and destroyed structures.

CORBAN Christina;  CARRION Daniela;  LEMOINE Guido;  BROGLIA Marco; 

2011-11-30

EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING RESEARCH INST

JRC59740

8755-2930,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC59740,   

10.1193/1.3630223,