Remote Sensing Technologies for Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Management

This paper highlights the use of remote sensing technologies in disaster management, notably post-earthquake/tsunami damage detection due to the 2003 Bam Earthquake and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and seismic risk assessment based on land use classification in Metro Manila, the Philippines. QuickBird (QB) images taken before and after the 26 December 2003 Bam Earthquake were used in visual damage interpretation based on the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS-98) building by building. An automated damage detection method was also applied to the post-event Ikonos and QB images. The results of these damage inspections were compared with field survey data and the accuracy and limitation of visual and automated damage detections were presented. QB images and GPS-synchronized photo/video were employed in the damage survey after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in the south Thailand. Terra-ASTER images were also used to identify tsunami inundation areas comparing the pre-event and post event images. For demonstrating the use of satellites images to urban classification, Landsat and Ikonos images were employed for Metro Manila. Using the normalized vegetation index and the texture of the image, a detailed classification of urban areas with respect to the density and height of buildings was sought. These examples show the usefulness of satellite images in disaster management.