Building Damage Estimation by Integration of Seismic Intensity Information and Satellite L-band SAR Imagery

Abstract

For a quick and stable estimation of earthquake damaged buildings worldwide, using Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) loaded on the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) satellite, a model combining the usage of satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery and Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)-scale seismic intensity is proposed. In order to expand the existing C-band SAR based damage estimation model into L-band SAR, this paper rebuilds a likelihood function for severe damage ratio, on the basis of dataset from Japanese Earth Resource Satellite-1 (JERS-1)/SAR (L-band SAR) images observed during the 1995 Kobe earthquake and its detailed ground truth data. The model which integrates the fragility functions of building damage in terms of seismic intensity and the proposed likelihood function is then applied to PALSAR images taken over the areas affected by the 2007 earthquake in Pisco, Peru. The accuracy of the proposed damage estimation model is examined by comparing the results of the analyses with field investigations and/or interpretation of high-resolution satellite images.

An Integrated Method Combining Remote Sensing Data and Local Knowledge for the Large-Scale Estimation of Seismic Loss Risks to Buildings in the Context of Rapid Socioeconomic Growth: A Case Study in Tangshan, China

“…Because remote sensing images, especially those with high resolutions, may be the only currently practical and reliable tools that are capable of providing full, clear and detailed coverage of large areas when labor resources and work times are limited, this information is urgently needed. Recently, apart from applications in post-earthquake impact assessments [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31], many studies have addressed the application of high-resolution remote sensing technology to pre-earthquake exposure, vulnerability, and risk. In these pre-earthquake studies, the and/or -relevant issues (see Equation (1)) of various buildings were widely discussed, including various optical imagery-based specific analyses (Table 1) [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50], some attempts at fusing optical imagery and LiDAR or SAR data [51][52][53] to help extract the heights of buildings, and several comprehensive reviews [54][55][56][57].…”

Building Damage Assessment Using Multisensor Dual-Polarized Synthetic Aperture Radar Data for the 2016 M 6.2 Amatrice Earthquake, Italy

“…In the dense urban area, z-values from Sentinel-1 DPM are higher, whereas in the middle of the town, where vegetation is dominant, the z-values are considerably higher in the ALOS-2 DPM. This is mainly because of the wavelength characteristics of the C-band and L-band, which have different permeabilities and permittivities over the various objects [27,30]. Figure 12 shows a topographic profile (SRTM 30 m), with the aim of revealing any potential correlations between the topography and DPMs.…”

“…Nevertheless, there is no straightforward SAR method that meets the needs of users or strategy makers. The existing methods vary from region to region, due to differences in local parameters such as vegetation, topography, or building performance [7,8,11,18,22,27]. None of the studies discussed in Section 1 has focused on a combination of dual-polarized SAR intensity and dual-polarized SAR coherence together with discriminant analysis.…”

Sensitivity and Limitation in Damage Detection for Individual Buildings Using InSAR Coherence—A Case Study in 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes

“…In the case of previous L-band SARs, JERS-1, and ALOS, multi-temporal analyses could distinguish the damaged city blocks in the same manner as the higher-frequency SARs [17][18][19]. The latest L-band SAR satellite ALOS-2 has been observing the Earth since 2014 [20].…”