A review and prospective research of earthquake damage assessment and remote sensing

Earthquake loss assessment is an important part of earthquake emergency preparedness, emergency response, and reconstruction. With the increased awareness of earthquake risk and the increasing demand for earthquake protection and disaster reduction, earthquake disaster loss assessment technology has undergone rapid development in recent years. Moreover, as remote sensing technology has entered the era of big data, remote sensing data are beginning to be widely used in earthquake loss assessment.This study reviews and summarizes the development of earthquake loss assessment and its use in remote sensing techniques. In particular, we initially reviewed the development of earthquake loss assessments and compared and analyzed the differences between loss calculation methods and the main functions of earthquake loss assessment software platforms at home and abroad. Second, we summarize the calculation methods for estimating casualties, injuries, and economic loss according to whether structural damage is considered. Third, we summarize the development of emergency earthquake loss assessment methods and earthquake loss prediction methods based on remote sensing. Finally, we analyzed the application prospects of NTL remote sensing data as a spatialization tool for population and GDP data for earthquake disaster loss. The following conclusions can be drawn. (1) In recent years, the calculation granularity of the domestic earthquake disaster loss estimation system has gradually improved. The applied structural damage estimation method has changed from the traditional empirical earthquake damage matrix to the fragile curve, and the system application scenario has developed from the post-earthquake period to full-time application. (2) A seismic loss assessment based on macro-data and historical earthquake cases is easy to calculate, but its reusability needs to be improved. Comparatively, various sophisticated methods for building loss information involve logical reasoning, but they are restricted by varying degrees of data completeness. (3) Post-earthquake loss assessment and earthquake damage prediction technologies based on remote sensing have gradually improved. The current development trends include methods for acquiring multisource remote sensing data and intelligent remote sensing data analysis. However, current earthquake loss assessment work is limited by incomplete data, which hinders the promotion of new methods, the lack of a unified national business platform, and the lack of uncertainty. The following suggestions are proposed: (1) further develop the role of remote sensing data in the entire process of earthquake disaster loss estimation; (2) build a professional, high-quality, and national unified earthquake disaster risk management platform; and (3) enrich and develop the reporting mechanism of earthquake disaster assessment results from the perspective of the identified audience. © 2024 Science Press. All rights reserved.