Hurricane Maria Landslide Concentration in Puerto Rico, 2 km Grid

39% of the 8,103 square km area examined in Puerto Rico showed landslide activity following Hurricane Maria. The dataset classifies 2 km x 2 km grid cells based on visual analysis of high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery collected between September 26 and October 8, 2017. It was created by Erin K. Bessette‐Kirton to inform disaster response and recovery efforts.

Use Cases

• Map landslide hazard zones based on the classified concentration grid (no landslides, <25/km², >25/km²).
• Assess municipal-level impact severity based on the described concentration in areas like Utuado.
• Validate landslide detection models using the visual interpretation methodology described for satellite and aerial imagery.
• Study the correlation between hurricane rainfall and landslide density in mountainous tropical regions.

Strengths

• Covers 8,103 square km, encompassing most of Puerto Rico's mountainous territory.
• Uses high-resolution imagery sources (~0.5 m satellite and ~0.15 m aerial).
• Provides a municipality-level analysis, identifying Utuado as the most severely impacted area.

Limitations

• Approximately 846 square km of land area was not examined due to lack of imagery or cloud cover.
• Landslide classification is based on visual estimation, not automated detection or ground truth.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Erin K. Bessette‐Kirton

Collection Method

Visual estimation from post-hurricane satellite (WorldView) and aerial imagery.

Time Range

Imagery collected between September 26, 2017 and October 8, 2017.

Geography

Puerto Rico, focusing on mountainous regions.