IGARSS - Detection of building loss in high resolution COSMO-SkyMed multitemporal images: Application to 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami

Real-time disaster detection plays an important role in effective emergency response activities. The purpose of this preliminary study was to detect buildings and to establish a change-detection map of the building change between pre-and post-tsunami by using high-resolution multi-temporal optical images (0.6 m spatial resolution) and X-band SAR images (2.5 m spatial resolution). Proposed algorithm of building change detection is applied to calculation of a statistical threshold and morphological image processing based on backscattering characteristics over a coastal zone in Rikuzentakada city devastated in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Total number of building change was counted automatically and it was validated with the numerical comparison in multi-temporal images.