Detection of collapsed buildings from lidar data due to the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake in Japan

Abstract. The 2016 Kumamoto earthquake sequence was triggered by an M_w 6.2 event at 21:26 on 14 April. Approximately 28 h later, at 01:25 on 16 April, an M_w 7.0 event (the mainshock) followed. The epicenters of both events were located near the residential area of Mashiki and affected the region nearby. Due to very strong seismic ground motion, the earthquake produced extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure. In this paper, collapsed buildings were detected using a pair of digital surface models (DSMs), taken before and after the 16 April mainshock by airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) flights. Different methods were evaluated to identify collapsed buildings from the DSMs. The change in average elevation within a building footprint was found to be the most important factor. Finally, the distribution of collapsed buildings in the study area was presented, and the result was consistent with that of a building damage survey performed after the earthquake.