Japan's space agency plans to use satellite images to quickly evaluate damage from earthquakes and other natural disasters.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, has said it expects the program to help enable immediate rescue operations in areas struck by disasters.

JAXA researchers plan to have the system learn approximately 200,000 data files on houses damaged by the powerful earthquakes in southwestern Japan in 2016.

The system will compare satellite images before and after a disaster.

The agency says the system will be capable of assessing damage building-by-building anywhere in the country within several hours after taking images.

JAXA plans to put the system to practical use in a few years.

In the Noto Peninsula quake on New Year's Day last year, some road networks were cut off. The blockages prevented recovery workers from quickly grasping the full extent of damage.

Kawakita Shiro of JAXA's Satellite Applications and Operations Center said he was vexed at being unable to rapidly provide helpful information in the Noto Peninsula earthquake. He said they are working to provide data as soon as possible.