Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) has profoundly modified Earth surface data acquisition and processing by offering high-resolution and high-spatial density data at the regional scale, which can be produced within just hours or days. Through a set of case studies in Japan, combining field observations and LiDAR remote sensing, I demonstrate the ability of the method (a) to penetrate vegetation cover and provide high-resolution topographic data; (b) to generate information on lifelines' minute impacts; as well as (c) imaging minor building damages. For this purpose, the January 1 st Noto Peninsula Earthquake was used as a set of case studies. On January 1 st 2024, the Noto Peninsula Earthquake (Japan) was shaken by a Mw 7.0 earthquake, which triggered numerous coseismic landslides, caused significant damage to lifeline infrastructure, and disrupted coastal communities in a peninsula dominated by forested steep-slope hills. The present chapter highlights the versatility of LiDAR dataset (a) for mapping coastal landslides partially covered with vegetation; (b) for the detection of road network ruptures in combination with wavelet decomposition, and (c) the assessment of building damage using the variability of intensity-return, providing damage information, even when the geometry of the pointcloud and the structure experienced limited change. The findings further underscore LiDAR's significance in regions experiencing demographic decline and rural isolation, because remote sensing capabilities becomes essential for directing effective disaster management when resources are strained.
Christopher Gomez (Tue,) studied this question.