Module 4 - Damage Assessment

In this lab assignment, we are tasked with evaluating the damage caused by hurricanes within a designated study area. We began by creating a new map and establishing a new feature class specifically for structural damage. This new layer incorporates an attribute domain to distinguish between various types of structures and their corresponding damage. I employed a raster image taken prior to the hurricane to assess different properties, placing points on each structure and filling in attributes with the correct building type. Additionally, using raster image taken after the event helped in identifying the structural damage. 

In the last step, we established a new polyline feature class layer intended for digitizing the coastline. This new layer will facilitate the analysis of structural damage based on five categories within distances of 100, 200, and 300 feet from the coastline. The categories include: no Damage, Affected, Minor Damage, Major Damage, and destroyed. There are several methods to evaluate the number of houses according to damage categories and their distance from the coastline. One method I used involved the Multiple Ring Buffer tool to create non-overlapping buffers at 100, 200, and 300 meters from the coastline. Afterward, I employed the Overlay tool alongside the building layer and each buffer to generate three separate layers, each illustrating the houses affected by the hurricane based on the distance specified by each buffer. Finally, I symbolized each layer according to the level of structural damage and activated the Show Count feature to ascertain the number of houses classified by structural damage within each buffer.

Damage Assessment Map

Table showing number of houses damaged based on structure damage category