Assessment of the degree of building damage caused by the 2010 Yushu, China earthquake using satellite and airborne data

摘要

Until now, prevention of earthquakes is rarely achieved and earthquakes continue to pose an increasing threat to life and property. For search and rescue operations, rapid, accurate and reliable information about the building damage and damage distribution is in great need in the critical post-event hours. Fortunately, remote sensing data from satellites and airborne platforms can provide valuable information for detecting the building damage due to earthquakes. In this study, satellite and airborneimages were processed to assess the degree of building damage caused by the Yushu, China earthquake on 14 April 2010. The selected study area enclosed part of Jiegu town, which was one of the areas most strongly hit by the earthquake. Combining with thepre-earthquake data of Yushu County from a Google Earth screenshot, we visually interpreted post-earthquake and pre-earthquake buildings in every region, and acquired the degree of building damage. The result shows that in every region of the study area,buildings with brick-clay or brick-wood structures showed characteristics of complete damage over a large area. The alluvial cone has a flat and solid surface but the lower soil is soft, so its structure is not stable enough to withstand a serious earthquake.