Airborne LiDAR for post-disaster recovery in Japan – lessons from coseismic landslides and lifeline impacts in the aftermath of the 1 January 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake

Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) has profoundly modified Earth surface data acquisition and processing by offering high-resolution and high-spatial-density data at the regional scale, which can be produced within just hours or days. Through a set of case studies in Japan, combining field observations and LiDAR remote sensing, I demonstrate the ability of the method (a) to penetrate vegetation cover and provide high-resolution topographic data, (b) to generate information on lifelines’ minute impacts and (c) to image minor building damage. For this purpose, the 1 January Noto Peninsula earthquake was used as a set of case studies. On 1 January 2024, the Noto Peninsula (Japan) was shaken by a M w 7.0 earthquake, which triggered numerous coseismic landslides, caused significant damage to lifeline infrastructure and disrupted coastal communities in a peninsula dominated by forested steep-slope hills. The present chapter highlights the versatility of the LiDAR dataset (a) for mapping coastal landslides partially covered with vegetation, (b) for the detection of road network ruptures in combination with wavelet decomposition and (c) for the assessment of building damage using the variability of intensity return, providing damage information even when the geometry of the pointcloud and the structure experienced limited change. The findings further underscore LiDAR's significance in regions experiencing demographic decline and rural isolation, because remote sensing capabilities become essential for directing effective disaster management when resources are strained.