13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
August 1-6, 2004
Paper No. 1121

AN EFFICENT SYSTEM FOR ACQUIRING EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE
INFORMATION IN DAMAGE AREA
Akihiro SHIBAYAMA1, Yoshiaki HISADA2

SUMMARY
An efficient system for collecting earthquake damage information in damage area is proposed using
digital maps on a PC and various IT tools (GPS, cellular phones, digital camera, etc.; The system software,
which is a simple GIS and written in Microsoft Visual Basic to run any Windows PC, is license free, andits source code is open to public use (Shibayama, et. al., 2002 [1]). Therefore, it is possible to download
and use this system by many people when an earthquake happens. Several field experiments are carriedout assuming various situations, in order to check the effectiveness of the proposed system by comparing
with the conventional investigation method, which is based on paper maps. The proposed system wascomparable with the conventional method as for the time to input data. However, the proposed system ismuch more efficient when the data are analyzed on a GIS software, because the data are already digital.
Although some problems of the system are found during the experiments, such as the maximum period of
PC batteries and the difficulty to see characters on a PC display under strong sunlight, the results of the
proposed system are more satisfactory than those of the conventional method.

INTRODUCTION
After the 1995 Kobe (Hyogoken-Nanbu) earthquake, the national and local governments of Japan haveinstalled a lot of accelerometers to calculate seismic intensities, and developed various real-time
information systems for estimating strong ground motions and building damage, such as DIS (DisasterInformation System) of the cabinet office of the government of Japan, READY of City of Yokohama, andROSE of the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention [2]. However, it
should be careful that the actual earthquake damage could be very different from the estimated damage. If
we rely on only estimated information, appropriate emergency response may not be accomplished. On theother hand, the estimated information can be useful to locate the actual damage areas at the beginning ofdamage investigations. Therefore, on the basis of those ideas, we have proposed a real-time system forcollecting earthquake damage information (Shibayama, et. al., 2002 [1]). In this paper, we will introduce
the details of the newest system, and explain results of field experiments to check the effectiveness of theproposed system.
1
2

Graduate Student, Mr.Eng, Kogakuin University, Japan, Email: dd02002@ccs.kogakuin.ac.jp
Professor, Dr.Eng, Kogakuin University, Japan, Email: hisada@cc.kogakuin.ac.jp

INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR EFFICIENTLY COLLECTING EARTHQAUKE DAMAGE
1) Main Features of the System
As shown in photo 1, we have developed an information system to collect efficiently actual damage
data in damaged areas utilizing IT equipments (PC, GPS, cellular phone, etc.). As shown in Figure 1 (left),
we can readily locate the investigating building using a digital map on a PC and GPS, and easily input theinformation of the building and damage. We can change the items of investigations according to purpose
and time, from quick inspections of the safety of buildings to detailed investigations for academic
purposes. As shown in Figure 1 (right), we can quickly obtain a list of the digitized damage information,and send it to a GIS server, using various means, such as a cellular and/or public phone, when they areavailable.

Photo1. An example of the configuration of the proposed system

Figure 1. A main window and a sub-window of the system

The main features of the proposed system as follows:
1) It is a simple and user-friendly GIS (Geographic Information System) specialized for collecting damage
information (see Figure 1). Therefore, anyone can use the system.
2) It can be installed in any Windows PCs without special equipments.
3) Input items can be changed according to various situations and purposes.
4) Its source code is license free and open to the public use. The programming language is Microsoft
Visual Basic 6.0 SP5. Therefore, it can be modified for various purposes.
5) System configuration can be flexible from PC to PC + various IT tools, such as HMD (Head Mounted
Display), GPS (Global Positioning System), a cellular phone, and a digital camera (see Photo 2).

Photo 2. Example of extended system (Notebook PC, Tablet PC, HMD)

2) Basic System Configuration and Peripheral Equipments
The basic system consists of the application software, a personal computer, and digital maps. Its
programming language is Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 SP5, which can be installed any Windows PCs. Its
software license is free and open to public use. In addition, common personal computers can be usedwithout any special equipment. Therefore, it is possible to collect damage information by assembling
many volunteers after an earthquake. The PC can be a desktop, a notebook and a tablet (see Photo 2). It
depends on the purposes and situations. For example, a notebook PC is appropriate in the field, whereas adesktop PC is more appropriate in an office, which collects the damage information.
The minimum specifications of the current system is to be compatible with a Pentium or higher CPU, a256 color display adapter of the 640x480 resolution or higher, and a keyboard or other input device(mouse, tablet, etc.). This system can be run on Microsoft Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, orWindows XP. The minimum RAM size is 16MB for Windows 98/ME, 64MB RAM for Windows 2000,
and 128MB for Windows XP. At least, a 20MB hard-disk space is required to run the system, dependingon the size of the digital maps. Both vector-type and raster-type of digital map can be utilized, such as thevector data of the 1/2,500 scale numerical map of Geographical Survey Institute of Japan, the vector dataof the MapInfo output format of MapInfo Corporation Company, and the raster data of the BMP format ofWindows, JPEG format, and GIF format.
The system configuration can be extended utilizing various peripheral IT equipments, such as HMD(Head Mounted Display), GPS (Global Positioning System), digital communications terminals, a digital
camera, and so on. For example, a HMD makes a hand free to be more efficient for inputting data (seePhoto 2). The combination of GPS and the digital map can navigate the target area, which is an extremely
powerful tool for a person who is unfamiliar with the area. Currently, the system is compatible with thehandheld GPS terminals of GARMIN Company. On the other hand, digital communications terminals,
such as a cellular phone, PHS (Personal Handy phone System), or wireless LAN can be used to send thedata to a GIS server.

3) Basic Input Data (Location, Properties, and Damage Grade)
The basic input data of this system are as follows:a) Locations of the damaged objects (e.g., building or area), whose unit can be a mesh, a city block, abuilding block, or a pointb) The properties of the damaged objects, such as building, bridge, lifeline and so onc) Damage grades, such as minor to complete collapse
When we find a damaged building, an area or an other object, we first click its location on the digital
map. As shown in Figure 2, the system provides three location units: a mesh unit, a building or a cityblock unit, and a point unit. The mesh unit (e.g., 50 x 50 m2, 100 x 100 m2, 250 x 250 m2) or the city
block unit is useful to locate the area where the damage grades of the objects (such as buildings) arealmost uniform within the unit. The building unit can be used, when a digital map with individualbuildings (vector or raster) is available, and/or the damaged buildings are scattered in the area (or adetailed investigation is needed). The point unit can be used to locate a building or other object, which are
not shown on the map. The location data are stored in the form of the latitude and longitude.
Second, we input the information of object’s properties. Figure 3 (left) shows an example of a tree
structure of object properties, and Figure 3 (right) shows how to input the properties. After choosing thelocation, a pop-up window to choose the object type appears; it can be a building, a road, a bridge, or alifeline facility. When we choose the object type, such as building, another window of building typeappears (e.g., wooden, steel, RC, or others). Next, we choose the number of stories of the building.
Third, we choose a damage grade, such as minor, major, or complete collapse. A different damage
grade is expressed as a different color, such as minor in blue, major in yellow, and collapse in red, as
shown in Figure 2.
Finally, after checking the confirmation window, which shows the all input items, we choose the “yes”,“no”, or “cancel” bottom. We repeat the above procedure from a) to c), when we find a next object.

Figure 2. Location units (mesh unit, building/block unit, point unit from left to right) and damage grade.

Figure 3. A tree structure of the target object properties (left) and the input menu Windows (right)

4) An Efficient Method for Data Input using Keyboard
In addition to the regular usage of a mouse, this system provides an efficient operation method to movea mouse pointer and to input data using a keyboard. As shown in Photo 3, we can use cursor keys to movethe mouse pointer. In addition, we can assign function keys or any other keys to the zoom in/out key,object property keys, and damage grade keys. For example, we may assign the “X” key to the “minor”
damage, the “Z” key to the “collapse” damage, and so forth. Once we accustom the assignments and thefunctions of the keys, this method can become much more efficient than the conventional method using
mouse, where we need to move the pointer on a select bottom on a window and push the enter key to enter
the data.

Photo 3. An Efficient Method for Data Input using Keyboard5) Varieties of Investigation Contents
Using this system, we can change input contents according to the investigation purposes. For example,
we may need an overall image of damage in affected areas immediately after a large earthquake. For thatcase, time is more important than accuracy. On the other hand, in order to inspect the safety of damagedbuildings, we need to carry out more detailed investigations. Accordingly, this system can provide various
investigation menus from simple to detail one. As shown in Figure 3, the simple menu consists ofclassification of an object (building, road, lifeline, bridge, et al.), sub-classification (wooden, steel, RC, etal.), a number of stories, and the damage grade from negligible to collapse. On the other hand, an
academic investigation of structural damage can be an example for the detail menus. For this purpose, weuse the chart of building damage proposed by Okada et al (1999) [3]. As for damage due to subsidence,the damage chart by Kohiyama et al (2000) [4] is available.
As for the rapid inspection of the safety of damaged buildings, we can use the manual of the Japan
Building Disaster Prevention Association. Figure 4 shows an example of the menu window of the safetyassessment. After finishing to input data, it automatically estimates a result, as showing in “Unsafe” (thered tag) in Figure. Moreover, this system has a customized function so that a user can change theinvestigation menu freely.

Figure 4. Form of questionnaire of the rapid inspection of the safety of damaged building6) Output Data of Damage Information
As for the output data of the collected damage information, this system produces a map image and a listof damage information. Figures 1 and 2 show examples of map images, which are stored in the BMP
format of Windows. The damage information data consist of the investigation time, the location of theobject (latitude and longitude), the properties of the object, and the damage grade. They are saved in theCSV format (Comma Separated Value) or the ASCII format. We can easily open and analyze these datausing various GIS software. As an example, Figure 5 shows an experimental result, which will beexplained below, using SIS 6.0 of Informatix Company.

Figure 5. Reading in Informatix Company SIS6.0 by data of TXT format.

EXPERIMENTS
We have carried out several experiments to check efficiencies of this system assuming varioussituations. In particular, we have checked merits and demerits of this system as compared with theconventional method based on paper maps.
1) About Experiments
Table 1 shows the list of experiments we carried out. Experiments from No.1 to No.4 are theexperiments where we investigated all the buildings in certain areas. The investigated contents are thebuilding classification (wooden, steel, RC buildings, and others) and numbers of floors. On the otherhand, experiments from No.5 to No.8 are the experiments where we searched specific buildings in certain
areas. We searched wooden houses with two floors in the experiments No.5, whereas we searched thebuildings, which had cracks in walls, in the experiments No.6 and No.7. As comparisons, we also carriedout the same experiments using the conventional paper maps as shown in the bottom of Table 1.

Table 1. All experiment contents
No Method Team Experiment contents
System1

1

All buildings
Paper1

System1

2

All buildings
Paper

1

3 System1

All buildings

4 System1

All buildings

System2

5

Target building
Paper

3

6 System

1

Target building7Paper

1

Target building

8 System

1

Target building

Investigation area

Area Building number
25ha

107

25ha

102

Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku,
25haTokyo, Japan

130

Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo, Japan

Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku,
25haTokyo, Japan
Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku,
25haTokyo, Japan
Kamijujo, Kita-ku, Tokyo,
15ha
Japan
Asagayakita, Suginami-ku,
14ha
Tokyo, Japan
Asagayakita, Suginami-ku,
14ha
Tokyo, Japan
Nishihara, Shibuya-ku,
17ha
Tokyo, Japan

68
65

1103

408
759
329

Investigation contents
Structure classification(Four kinds),Building
number of floorsStructure classification(Four kinds),Building
number of floors
Structure classification(Two kinds),Building
number of floors
Structure classification(Two kinds),Building
number of floors
Structure classification(Two kinds),Building
number of floors
Structure classification(Two kinds),building
number of floors,quantity of crazing of a wall
Structure classification(Two kinds),building
number of floors,quantity of crazing of a wall
Structure classification(Two kinds),building
number of floors2) Experiment Methods
As for the proposed system, we used notebook PCs of A4 or A5 sizes, and keyboards to input data asexplained above. We chose students of Kogakuin University to carry out the experiments, who have neverused the system. Before starting the experiments, we explained how to use the system about 15 minutes.
The experiments were conducted by making one team of two persons: one for investigating buildings, andthe other for inputting data.
As for the conventional method based on papers, we also chose students of Kogakuin University bymaking one team of two persons: one for investigating buildings, and the other for writing down data on
the maps. The map sizes were A4 or A3, depending on the sizes of the areas. Figure 5 shows an exampleof written-down marks. “R3” stands for the RC building with 3 floors. We draw circles surrounding themarks to find easily the marks on the maps (see Figure 6).

Figure 6. An example of the marks of the object properties for a paper map3) Experiment Results
Table 2 shows the results of all the experiments. The investigation times between the system and thepaper are comparable. For example, the average time per one building for experiment No1 and No2 was
19.4 second using the system, whereas it was 21.8 second using paper. On the other hand, the averagetime per one building of experiment No 5 was 7.7 second for the system, whereas it was 7.4 second for thepaper. In conclusion, the proposed system was comparable with the conventional method regarding theinput time. However, when we analyze the data on a GIS software, the proposed system is much more
efficient, because the data were already digital.

Table 2. All experiment results
No123
45678MethodSystem
PaperSystem
PaperSystemSystemSystemSystem
PaperPaperPaperSystem
PaperSystem

Experimentcontents
All buildings
All buildings
All buildings
All buildings

Target building

Target building
Target building
Target building

Building number Investigation time
107
102
130
130
68
65
1103
1103
1103
1103
1103
408
759
329

33 minute42 minute44 minute41 minute26 minute25 minute143 minute
140 minute
140 minute
153 minute
113 minute109 minute210 minute71 minute

Investigation time
per one building
18.50 sec
24.71 sec
20.3 sec
18.92 sec
22.94 sec
23.08 sec
7.78 sec
7.62 sec
7.62 sec
8.32 sec
6.15 sec
16.03 sec
16.60 sec
12.93 sec

Average time
per one building

7.7 sec
7.36 sec

CONCLUDING REMARKS
We have proposed an efficient system for collecting earthquake damage information using digital maps
on PCs and various IT tools. In order to check the effectiveness of the system, we carried out several
experiments, and found that the proposed system was more effective than the conventional method, which
was based on paper maps.
We also found some problems in the system. First, the system needs digital maps (vector or raster)
before investigations start. Thus, this may cause serious problems, if the target areas are very wide, rural,or a foreign country. We expect that the satellite image map with high resolutions would become moreeasily available. Second, the maximum period of PC batteries are around 4 hours. Thus, we have to carryextra batteries to continue investigation over 4 hours. In addition, PC is much heavier than paper maps.
We are expecting lighter PCs with larger battery capacity to solve this problem in the near future. Third, it
was very difficult to see maps and characters on a PC display under strong sunlight. However, HMD(Head Mount Display) can solve this problem, although it is not necessarily used widely yet.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research is supported by Special Project for Earthquake Disaster Mitigation in Urban Areas ofMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT), and Earthquake andEnvironmental Research Center of Kogakuin University funded by the Frontier Research Promotion
Program of MEXT.
REFERENCES
1. Akihiro SHIBAYAMA and Yoshiyuki HISADA: Real-time System For Acquiring Earthquake Damage
Information, 11th Japan earthquake engineering symposium, pp2313-2316, 2002
2. The National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, Real-Time Operation
System for Earthquake, http://www.hinet.bosai.go.jp/rose/index.html
3. Shigeyuki OAKDA and Nobuo TAKAI: Classifications of Structural Types and Damage Patterns ofBuildings for Earthquake Field Investigation, Journal of Structural and Construction Engineering,
No524, pp65-72, 1999
4. Masayuki KOHIYAMA, Kei HORIE, Norio MAKI, Haruo HAYASHI and Satoshi TANAKA: Proposal
for the effective building damage assessment for disaster management, Journal of Structural andConstruction Engineering, No.531, pp189-196, 2000