The role of the integration of remote sensing and GIS in land use/land cover analysis after an earthquake

In this study, the adverse effects of the Marmara earthquake of 17 August 1999 on the land use/land cover (LULC) of Kocaeli province in Turkey were analysed by integration of ERS-2, LANDSAT TM, SPOT-4 and IRS-1C data of varying spectral and spatial resolutions with ground data such as geological maps, soil maps and elevation data. The study was carried out in three main stages. The first stage consisted of studies on the deformation of the Earth's crust, damage in the urban texture and changes to the coastline through analysis of satellite data before and after the earthquake. Earth crust deformations resulting after the earthquake were mapped by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data using a SAR interferometer. Damage in urban centres and coastline changes were assessed by analysis of SPOT and LANDSAT imageries. IRS data after the earthquake were used for the current LULC map of the entire province. The second stage involved settlement suitability analysis by multicriteria evaluation (MCE) methodology taking into account the geological formations, land cover, soil classes, slope, main transportation network, and urbanization status of Kocaeli province. In the third stage, the results obtained through the settlement suitability analysis were interpreted by the information generated through satellite imageries.