Deriving Nighttime Light Metrics for Disaster Assessment Towards Area Prioritisation and Tracking
Lois Anne B. Leal (a*), Juan Antonio Mari F. Carpio (b), Niel Mawen B. Getigan (b), Anne Moselle C. Rubio (b), Leonard Bryan B. Paet (a), Reinabelle C. Reyes (a)

a) Philippine Space Agency, Metro Manila, Philippines
*lois.leal[at]philsa.gov.ph
b) Department of Physics, Ateneo de Manila University, Metro Manila, Philippines

Abstract

Disasters generate widespread damage and displacement, requiring scalable methods to track impact and recovery over time. This study introduces a unified nighttime lights (NTL) framework that integrates percent-based and difference-based metrics with a temporal point of interest approach for continuous disaster assessment and area prioritisation. Using 12 years of NASA VIIRS VNP46A3 data, we analyse 281 barangays in Eastern Visayas, Philippines, affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013, capturing the full arc from impact to recovery. Results show severe losses (up to -148.3 nW/cm2/sr, -85.11%) and recovery trajectories extending over 11.5 years, with 57 barangays still below pre-disaster levels as of May 2025. The framework reveals long-term dynamics including displacement, resettlement, and infrastructure-driven gains, aligning with high-resolution imagery and reports. Beyond Haiyan, this approach provides a generalisable, data-driven system for disaster tracking, supporting evidence-based recovery planning and scalable prioritisation across Asia and beyond.

Keywords: Nighttime Lights, Disaster Assessment, Disaster Metrics, Area Prioritisation, Tracking

Topic: Topic B: Applications of Remote Sensing