Abstract

Earthquake damage estimation system and its application to initial response
Track: Disaster and Emergency Management
Authors: Byeongpyo Jeong

Drawing on its extensive experience with natural disasters, Japan has been dispatching Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) team to disaster-stricken countries to provide specialist assistance in rescue etc. The JDR team has assisted in the wake of disasters including the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake in China. Information about the affected area is essential for a rapid disaster response. However, it can be difficult to gather information on damages in the immediate post-disaster period.
To help overcome this problem, we have built on an Earthquake Damage Estimation System. This system makes it possible to produce distributions of the seismic intensity and structural damage based on pre-calculated data such as landform and site amplification factors for PGV, which is estimated from a DEM.
The result can be shared with the JDR team and with other international organizations through communications satellite or Internet, enabling more effective rapid relief operations.