Module 4: Hurricane Sandy Damage Assessment

 This week I examined the structural damage caused by Hurricane Sandy along a section of the New Jersey coastline. Pre-storm and post-storm aerial imagery were compared in ArcGIS Pro to identify damage to individual properties. Damage assessment points were created for each structure and classified according to FEMA-style damage categories. 

Analysis included the creation of Hurricane track points and a storm path line from NOAA data, as shown below. 

 


     Next, pre-storm and post-storm mosaic datasets were created and imagery was compared. Coded value domains were created for damage categories and points were created to digitize structures and create a damage assessment. Through this assessment, structures were classified as No Damage, Affected, Minor Damage, or Destroyed. Lastly, the relationship between structural damage and distance from the coastline was analyzed through the creation of several buffers and selection tools. 


The completed damage assessment showed that the most severe damage was concentrated near the coastline. Structures within the closest distance zone experienced the highest number of major damage and destroyed classifications, while structures farther inland generally showed less severe damage. Although the pattern suggests that coastal proximity influenced damage severity, additional information such as elevation, building construction, and field verification would be needed for reliable prediction. 

This analysis demonstrated how GIS how GIS can be used to support post-disaster damage assessment. By combining aerial imagery, parcel data, coded value domains and spatial analysis, it is possible to create a consistent record of structural damage that could assist emergency management and recovery planning. 


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