Deep learning evaluation demonstrates accurate building damage classification and population impact mapping in disaster zones, highlighting scalable emergency response utility.
—Rapid identification of building damage distribution during the critical rescue phase is essential for efficient emergency response. However, most existing studies focus on earthquake-like structural hazards, limiting their generalization across different disaster scenarios. In addition, current methods often struggle to effectively integrate cross-temporal features from pre- and post-disaster imagery, while effective links between pixel-level classification and regional decision-making information remain limited. To address these issues, this study proposes an improved deep learning framework, NBDANet, developed based on BDANet for building damage assessment. NBDANet adopts a two-stage architecture with Spatial Pyramid Pooling (SPP) modules embedded in both stages to enhance multi-scale contextual representation. The first stage performs building localization, while the second stage introduces a Dual-input Triplet Attention (DTA) module to improve feature interaction between pre- and post-disaster images and enhance damage classification accuracy. The model is trained and evaluated on the xBD dataset and further applied to the Derna case using high-resolution GeoEye-1 imagery. Validation is supplemented by Sentinel-derived Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) and Damage Proxy (DP) maps, confirming spatial consistency. In addition, Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) data are integrated to estimate affected populations and delineate rescue-priority zones. Results show that 22% of buildings were damaged, including approximately 20% of all buildings classified as Major damage or Destroyed . Estimated affected populations in Major damage and Destroyed zones were approximately 5,200 and 2,650, respectively. The proposed approach demonstrates strong performance in building localization and damage classification, providing a scalable solution for multi-source disaster assessment and recovery planning.
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Yang et al. (2026) studied this question.
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