Remote Sensing Nighttime Lights Reveal the Post-Earthquake Losses and Reconstruction Situations in Turkey–Syria Earthquake Areas

Timely and effective assessments of post-earthquake losses and reconstruction situations have a crucial guiding value for adjusting and deploying reconstruction plans in disaster-stricken areas. Remote sensing nighttime light technology, relying on its own light information, can effectively monitor changes in the intensity of nighttime lights in disaster-stricken areas. Thus, this technology can provide firsthand data for a prompt understanding of earthquake-induced losses and post-earthquake reconstruction situations. Taking the example of the Turkey–Syria earthquake that occurred on February 6, 2023, we employed nighttime light statistical analysis and concentric ring analysis to evaluate the post-earthquake losses and reconstruction situations. Results indicate that: (1) At the provincial level, during the post-earthquake period, Hatay and Şanlıurfa in Turkey were severely affected, with nighttime light intensity decreasing by 347,800 and 247,392 nWcm -2 sr -1 , respectively. During the post-earthquake reconstruction period, nighttime lights for all provinces recovered to or exceeded pre-earthquake levels, with the best recovery observed in Şanlıurfa Province, Aleppo Province. (2) At the county level, during the post-earthquake period, cities with the highest reduction in nighttime lights were Ar-Raqqah, Sanliurfa, Viranşehir, Dörtyol, and Ceylanpınar, with reductions of 112,267, 91,004, 65,630, 50,465, and 49,763 nWcm -2 sr -1 , respectively. During the post-earthquake reconstruction period, nighttime lights for the majority of areas recovered to or exceeded pre-earthquake levels. (3) The areas in close proximity to the earthquake’s epicenter were significantly affected by the event, but these areas exhibited the fastest recovery in post-earthquake reconstruction efforts.