Semi-automatic detection of unusable roads after an earthquake

4th International Civil Engineering & Architecture Conference, Trabzon, Türkiye, 17 - 19 Mayıs 2025, ss.668-675, (Tam Metin Bildiri)

After an earthquake, there is often significant loss of life and property. To minimize the loss of life, it

is crucial to quickly reach the affected buildings and individuals. The planning of search and rescue operations or

the transit times of aid convoys can vary depending on the condition of the roads after the earthquake. In city

centers, where major destruction may occur, it is especially important to rapidly determine which roads are usable

after the earthquake. Roads often become unusable due to cracks or collapses in areas intersecting fault lines or

debris from collapsed buildings blocking the road. In this study, roads blocked and unusable by building debris

after an earthquake were identified using a semi-automatic method. Since it is impossible to predict where and

when earthquakes will occur, obtaining precise 3D data for all areas prior to an earthquake is not feasible. In this

study, single-period point cloud data obtained from unmanned aerial vehicles were combined with building vector

data from cadastral maps. The vectorial road data from cadastral maps were adapted for 3D analysis through

algorithms developed. Thus, without the need for two-period LiDAR data, unusable roads after an earthquake were

identified using single-period point cloud data and cadastral maps through 3D analyses.