A time-series photo set released by the DATOS team capturing events in the Makilala area from October 23 to November 9, 2019.

On October 31, 2019, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the municipality of Makilala in Cotabato, causing a landslide that affected nearby barangays in the area. The Philippine Earth Data Resource Observation (PEDRO) Center and DATOS Help Desk of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) worked hand in hand in acquiring and utilizing available data to complement and supplement the initiatives of the mandated government agencies which responded during the event.

Using satellite images captured by the Dove Satellite, before and after images of Barangay Bato in Makilala were acquired and analyzed. In the images below, the red boxes indicate building footprints that show which structures were possibly affected.

Figure 1. Before and after High Resolution Image comparison from a landslide near Barangay Bato, Cotabato.

Figure 2. A 3D visualization of the before and after High Resolution Image comparison

A map was released by the DATOS Team a week later, plotting the areas potentially affected by the landslide.

Figure 3. A map showing potentially affected areas by the earthquake-induced Makilala landslide

Through Planetscope satellite images acquired from the PEDRO Center, the DATOS team was able to use AI models in predicting the bare soil and vegetation cover in the area, those of which were interpreted as potential landslide areas.

With access to open source and commercially available satellite images and expertise in varying data science methods, outputs released by the PEDRO Center and DATOS Help Desk aim to aid existing government efforts during disasters and are in no way intended to be a substitute for official information.