Territorial deprivation and remotely mapped building damage after the 2026 Colombia earthquake: A multi-city analysis

Abstract. Earthquake impacts reflect not only the spatial distribution of seismic shaking but also the characteristics of the territories in which exposed buildings are located. This study examined the association between territorial deprivation and remotely mapped building damage following the 10 August 2026 Colombia earthquake. We integrated Copernicus Emergency Management Service damage mapping, USGS ShakeMap ground-motion data, Overture building footprints, and census-block information from the 2018 Colombian Population and Housing Census across six urban Areas of Interest. We used a Service Deprivation Index (SDI), based on deficits in electricity, piped water, sewerage, gas, waste collection, and internet access, to characterize territorial conditions. Damage observations were spatially linked to building footprints, and grouped-binomial models assessed damage occurrence while accounting for seismic intensity and census-based covariates. Territorial deprivation varied markedly among cities and showed heterogeneous associations with mapped damage. Buenaventura exhibited a clear deprivation–damage gradient, while Pereira showed a concentration of damage in the highest deprivation quartile and a consistent positive association after adjustment. Quibdó did not reproduce this pattern. Among buildings with confirmed mapped damage, a one-standard-deviation increase in SDI was associated with approximately twice the odds of being classified as destroyed rather than damaged (OR = 2.02, 95 % CI: 1.22–3.33), an association that remained consistent across sensitivity analyses. These findings indicate that seismic intensity alone does not fully characterize the spatial distribution and severity of remotely mapped earthquake damage. Integrating rapid post-event damage mapping with census-based territorial information may provide complementary evidence for identifying areas where earthquake impacts are concentrated and supporting the prioritization of post-disaster assessment and response.