Module 5: Damage Assessment

This weeks module discussed damage assessment from storms. Specifically we looked at hurricane Sandy and the path it took in October 2012 towards the New Jersey Coastline. By utilizing the data given for the storm tracker points and their MPH wind speeds and Bar pressure readings; the points for symbolized based on the type of storm present and there respective readings were labeled. 

To determine the damage done from hurricane Sandy, we assessed a three block area on the New Jersey Coastline. Imagery from Pre and Post hurricane was uploaded via Mosaic Datasets the raster for Pre and Post. Once these were uploaded, the Pre imagery was used to place points over buildings that existed before hurricane Sandy. Within this point feature class, domains were placed for Structure damage, wind damage, inundation, and type of building. Descriptions and codes were given for the four fields and filled out based on the difference in imagery from the post imager layers. To do this, the swipe tool was enabled. The points and their damage assessment are below. There was some difficulty in proper assessment as there was only a birds-eye view available and the post imagery was darker. To get a better assessment, I viewed the surrounding area and the damage done to it. 

The results for the structure damage assessment are in the table below:

To obtain this data, a feature class for the coastline was created and the buffer tool was used to obtain three different buffers; 100, 200 and 300m from the coastline. I added an additional column for 300-400m because there were buildings outside of the first three. The image below is of the buffers and the points within them, symbolized based on their damage assessment. 

The final results of this analysis provided that structures within the first 200m of the coastline were heavily impacted by hurricane Sandy. The structures within 200-300m of the coastline faced minor damages. To further the accuracy in these results, imagery that allowed the side view of structures would have been beneficial as well as real time data of the damage being recorded. To obtain this data, a survey was created via survey123 in ArcGIS Online. This will automatically update the data when a user submits a survey of their structure or area. 

Click Here for Survey

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