Identifying Damaged Areas Caused by the Noto Peninsula 2024 Earthquake Using Change Detection from Optical Satellite Images

Abstract

Strategic response during disasters requires the swiftness of the flow of data and information. Simple change detections can be used from Optical Satellite Images to achieve fast results that can be used for analysis and planning. In response to the earthquake that devastated the Noto Peninsula of Japan on New Year’s Day, news reports and early optical satellite images were utilized to identify areas that were damaged by the earthquake. The changes in the reflectance values and indicators, such as NDBI and NDVI were analyzed to identify the areas with damages such as collapsed buildings and landslides. From the after-event satellite images of PlanetScope and Sentinel-2, three areas were identified as severely affected based on news reports namely, Wajima City, Niemachi, and Noto Town. To verify the results of the analysis, aerial images provided by the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan, and Google Earth Street View Images were used. Through change detection methods, the locations of damaged areas were pinpointed using Optical Satellite Images after the earthquake incident.