High-resolution satellite imagery analysis of coseismic landslides and liquefaction induced by the 2024 M_W 7.4 Hualien earthquake, Taiwan, China

Abstract

Rapidly obtaining spatial distribution maps of secondary disasters triggered by strong earthquakes is crucial for understanding the disaster-causing processes in the earthquake hazard chain and formulating effective emergency response measures and post-disaster reconstruction plans. On April 3, 2024, a M_W 7.4 earthquake struck offshore east of Hualien, Taiwan, China, which triggered numerous coseismic landslides in bedrock mountain regions and severe soil liquefaction in coastal areas, resulting in significant economic losses. This study utilized post-earthquake emergency data from China's high-resolution optical satellite imagery and applied visual interpretation method to establish a partial database of secondary disasters triggered by the 2024 Hualien earthquake. A total of 5 348 coseismic landslides were identified, which were primarily distributed along the eastern slopes of the Central Mountain Range watersheds. In high mountain valleys, these landslides mainly manifest as localized bedrock collapses or slope debris flows, causing extensive damage to highways and tourism facilities. Their distribution partially overlaps with the landslide concentration zones triggered by the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. Additionally, 6 040 soil liquefaction events were interpreted, predominantly in the Hualien Port area and the lowland valleys of the Hualien River and concentrated within the IX-intensity zone. Widespread surface subsidence and sand ejections characterized soil liquefaction. Verified against local field investigation data in Taiwan, rapid imaging through post-earthquake remote sensing data can effectively assess the distribution of coseismic landslides and soil liquefaction within high-intensity zones. This study provides efficient and reliable data for earthquake disaster response. Moreover, the results are critical for seismic disaster mitigation in high mountain valleys and coastal lowlands.

Keywords

2024 Hualien M_W 7.4 earthquake / Coseismic landslides / Soil liquefaction / Remote sensing interpretation / China's Gaofen serial satellite imagery

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Lingyu Lu: Writing – original draft. Yueren Xu: Writing – review & editing. Jiacheng Tang: Visualization. Guiming Hu: Formal analysis.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. The corresponding author Yueren Xu is the editorial board member of Earthquake Research Advances and was not involved in the review process.

Author agreement and Acknowledgement

The authors of this article all agree with this submission. This research was funded by the Basic Research program from the Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, China Earthquake Administration (Grant No. CEAIEF20240302), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42072248), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant Nos. 2021YFC3000600 and 2019YFE0108900).

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