Comparing and combining the capability of detecting earthquake damages in urban areas using SAR and optical data

The prompt detection, mapping and assessment of urban damages due to earthquakes is a key point, particularly in remote areas or where the infrastructures are not well developed to ensure the necessary communication exchanges or where their operability has strongly decreased as a consequence of the event. The combination of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data and optical images is a promising and suitable approach. We propose two test cases, the 1999 Izmit (Turkey) and the 2003 Bam (Iran) earthquakes where we investigate the capability to detect urban changes and classify them. Moreover, a comparison with ground based data is also shown.