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Tsunami Management
Lecture Notes

2nd Regional Workshop on Disaster Management

February, 21 23, 2005

Sponsored by

Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India

Venue:

Bengal Engineering & Science University, West Bengal

Shri Ramakrishna Ashram, Nimpith, Sundarban

Lecture by

P. Basak, M.Tech, PhD, FIE, M.ASCE, Ford Foundation Fellow, MIT, USA

President, Institute For Sustainable Eco-Development (IFSED)

Director, Amal Jyothi College of Engineering
Adviser, Environment and Disaster management, CARITAS - India
Expert Committee Member, DST, GOI
Member, Global Weather & Climate Change Committee (USA)
Vice Chairman, Sahayadri Co-operative Credit Society
Principal Resource Person, CARITAS - Asia

Formerly,

Executive Director, Center for Water Resources Dev & Mgt

National Consultant, World Health Organization and Water Technology
Mission (GOI)
Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Kerala Agricultural University

What is Tsunami?
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The term tsunami, which is often incorrectly referred to as a

tidal wave, was officially adopted for general use in 1963
during an international scientific conference.

It is a Japanese word represented by two characters: "tsu" which

means harbor and "nami" which means wave.

Tsunami is also known in the following names

Flutwellen (German)
Vloedgolven (Dutch)
Hai I (Chinese)
Maremoto (Spanish)
Raz de maree (French)
Vagues sismiques (French)
Seismic sea wave (English)

What are the basic characteristics of Tsunami waves?

Most waves that hit the typical beach, are wind generated.
Smaller and less powerful than other waves.
Wind-generated waves have a time period (the time
between two successful waves) of five to twenty seconds.

Their wavelength (the distance between two successful

waves) is usually about 50 to 600 feet.

Tsunamis, on the other hand, can have time periods between ten
minutes and one hour and a wavelength in excess of 430 miles.
Can travel at speeds over 700 kilometers (435 miles) per hour

A comparison between ordinary wave and Tsunami wave

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Parameters Ordinary wind generated Wave Tsunami Wave

Time 2 to 20 seconds 10 to 60 minutes

Period

Wave Length 50 to 600 ft >430 miles

Wave height
Maximum a meter Can be as high as
100 m
Visibility Visible in the entire ocean Visible only in the
shore
Appearance near Shore Will not move beyond the normal Will be moving like a
ebb and tide zone big wall of water
much beyond the
tide zone

Yet one more difference between wind wave and

Tsunami

Tsunamis are often no taller than normal wind waves, but they
much more dangerous

How does a Tsunami wave

looks when it reaches the
shore?

When Tsunami waves reach Shore,

they look something like this

This is what you see,

when Tsunami
strikes a coast
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Tsunami waves in the high sea and in the shore

Tsunami waves travel very efficiently across the ocean and that is why
it shows up hundreds and even thousands of miles away with much of
the same energy that it started. It gains height only when it
approaches the shore

In high sea everything would look normal and the ships there,
will not feel uncomfortable, neither it can be detected from the
air

In fact during Tsunami alert, ships and boats are advised to

remain in the high sea and they must not approach the shore

The three sketches next, explains a typical behavior of Tsunami waves

in the high sea and in the shore

Tsunami at Deep Sea. The Tsunami

waves can not be felt or seen by ships
at Sea. The Tsunami can not also be
seen from the air in the Mid Sea

From the shore, how one gets a

clue that Tsunami is about to
reach the Shore?

When Tsunami is about to reach the

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shore, either of the following two things

can be noticed

1. Along the shore, sea would rise

gently (even though, it is not tide
time)

OR

2. Along the shore, sea would be

moving back from the shore (even
though it is not an ebb time) and
the fishes would be flapping on
the dry beaches
Rising and receding water even though t is not a tide or ebb time is a sure
indication of an oncoming Tsunami

Causes of Tsunami

There are 4 reasons which may cause a Tsunami to form and they are:
A big earthquake below the ocean floor (like what happened on
26th Dec 2004 in Sumatra)
Very major or series of major landslides either in the mountains
below the ocean or on the land, but slided mass falling in the ocean
Huge volcanic eruptions either in the land (where from huge
amount of erupted materials find its way to the ocean) or below the
ocean (Example: Krakatua volcanic eruption in 1883)
A sizable meteorite from space falling on the ocean
Shallow undersea earthquakes (> 7.5) are responsible for most
tsunamis

though at time landslides triggered by smaller seismic events can

also generate potentially lethal waves.

Strong earthquakes cause a displacement of the crust. When they

occur underwater,
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this crustal movement disturbs a large volume of water and

ripples spread out in all directions at speeds of 600-800 kilometres
per hour, comparable to commercial aircraft.

Which are the Tsunami prone countries and oceans?

Distribution of Tsunami by ocean basins

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Our recent experience of Tsunami (26th December, 2004) - A case

study

Epicenter:
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3.316N, 95.854E near WEST COAST OF NORTHERN

SUMATRA.
This is
250 km SSE of Banda Aceh, Sumatra,
Indonesia
310 km W of Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia
1260 km SSW of BANGKOK, Thailand
1605 km NW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia
2000 Km E of Chennai

Earthquake magnitude = 9.0

The above earthquake happened on Sunday, 26 December 2004

at 30 Km below the Indian Ocean bed at
00 58:53 Coordinate Universal Time (UTC)
7:58:53 AM Local Sumatra time (Epicenter)
06:28:53 AM Indian Time

Tsunami Source
area (26th Dec.
2004) see the
box in the fig.
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The most impacted spots (tsunami 26th Dec. 2004) in the Indian Ocean
see the red spots

Travel time
for the 26th
Dec. 2004
Tsunami
Waves
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Kanyakumari, as it looked after the event

Worlds worst train

disaster?

Up to 1,500 people were

crammed inside the train
as it travelled 75 miles
(110km) along the Sri
Lankan coastline from
Colombo to the southern
city of Galle.
At least 802 died and
hundreds remain
unaccounted for.

Could some of these destructions be avoided?

Tsunami is heading the Indian Subcontinent Information was known

but could not be delivered to India !!!
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The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Detected the Earthquake

and after 15 minutes, issued a communiqu to Pacific Islands saying
that there shall be no threats to them and also advises that there is a
Tsunami watch going on but not an alert.
65 minutes later a second communiqu repeats the same information
and says that there may a possibility of a Tsunami at the epicenter
(http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/olderwmsg)
And the epicenter is in the Indian Ocean

What to do before, during and after Tsunami?

Issues and questions covered

Why to prepare for Tsunami?

Much before the Tsunami keep on gaining the knowledge
How to prepare for a Tsunami?
How to protect myself from Tsunami?
What to do when Tsunami is imminent?
What to do during a Tsunami?
What to do after a Tsunami?

Why prepare for tsunamis?

All tsunamis are potentially dangerous. 10 tsunamis during last 200 years
have caused damage in India. These 10 tsunamis have killed more than
40,000 people and caused significant property damage, in east and west
Coast regions of the country.

When a tsunami comes ashore, it can cause great loss of life and property
damage.

Tsunamis can travel upstream in coastal estuaries and rivers, with

damaging waves extending farther inland than the immediate coast.

A tsunami can occur during any season of the year and at any time, day or
night.
Much before the Tsunami Keep on gaining knowledge on the subject

Knowledge is power and safety comes only from the prior knowledge

Read the history of the coastal area, you live in and find during last 200
years, was this area affected by the Tsunami. If so how big was the
Tsunami at that time.

Locate the nearby high grounds and the easiest way to reach that spot.
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Organize yourself, the family and the community and plan for Tsunami
evacuation (the mode, the route, the safe spots etc) and get Tsunami
Ready

Look for experts and knowledgeable people to tell you more on this

Kindly note, so far as Indian Ocean is concerned, all the Nations and
Islands facing the Indian Ocean is vulnerable to the earthquakes below the
ocean. The islands and the coastal belts of the country in the region are to
be careful. The list of the Islands in the Indian Ocean is listed for your
ready reference

Know few facts on Tsunami

1. Sometimes a tsunami causes the water near the shore to recede, exposing
the ocean floor.

2. The force of some tsunamis is enormous. Large rocks weighing several

tons along with boats and other debris can be moved inland hundreds of
feet by tsunami wave activity. Homes and other buildings are destroyed.
All this material and water move with great force and can kill or injure
people.

3. Tsunamis can occur at any time, day or night.

4. Tsunamis can travel up rivers and streams that lead to the ocean.

5. Tsunamis that strike coastal locations in the Pacific and Indian Ocean Basin
are, primarily caused by earthquakes below the ocean. These earthquakes
might occur far away or near where you live.

6. Some tsunamis can be very large. In coastal areas their height can be as
great as 30 feet or more (100 feet in extreme cases), and they can move
inland several hundred feet.

7. All low-lying coastal areas can be struck by tsunamis.

8. A tsunami consists of a series of waves. Often the first wave may not be
the largest. The danger from a tsunami can last for several hours after the
arrival of the first wave.

9. Tsunamis can move faster than a person can run.

What to do when Tsunami is imminent?

Please note that possibility of getting a Tsunami is high, if there is an

earthquake below the ocean in and around your region.

Immediately after the Earthquake, if you live very near the sea shore
move away from the shore, as early as possible
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If you see that the sea water has receded very far it is a dangerous run
away from the shore, you have only few minutes to save yourself

This is what you are

supposed to do
when Tsunami is
imminent

What to do during a tsunami?

If you feel an earthquake that lasts 20 seconds or longer when you are
on the coast; the Red cross advises you to;

Drop, cover, and hold on. You should first protect yourself from the
earthquake.

When the shaking stops, gather your family members and

evacuate quickly. Leave everything else behind. A tsunami may be
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coming within minutes. Move quickly to higher ground away from the
coast.

Be careful to avoid downed power lines and stay away from buildings
and bridges from which heavy objects might fall during an aftershock.

When
Tsunami is
in, hold
something
which is
strong or
which
floats

Why we need a Tsunami warning System (TWS)?

We want an effective Tsunami Warning System (TWS) be installed

because

We would like to run away and would not like to face those big waves
and get killed
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We would like to either move the properties and infrastructures

(buildings, houses, vehicles, machineries etc) from the danger zone in
the coast or make them stronger to face the waves, as and when they
come.

We would not like get submerged in the Tsunami run up areas, beyond
the beach

We would like to get time to prepare ourselves and get physically and
mentally ready to face the situation

We need a TWS because India Suffered 10 Tsunamis during last

200 Years

What is a TWS?

Any modern Tsunami Warning System consists of 4

components

Sea Floor Bottom Pressure Recording (BPR) system

Which senses any change of pressure in the ocean water near the
ocean bottom. Tsunami , once it is generated along the ocean floor
with high pressure. BPR senses and records this change of pressure
and its arrival and it is capable of detecting Tsunamis, as small as, 1
cm

A moored surface buoy for real time communications

An acoustic link is used to transmit data from the BPR on the
seafloor to the surface buoy.

A Satellite which will receive the data from Surface Buoy.

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The satellite then transmits the data (Received from Surface Buoy)
to the Ground Stations

Ground Stations
Which demodulate the signals received from the Satellite and
immediately transmit to Tsunami Warning Centers (TWC)
strategically located who in turn send the Tsunami Warning
messages to the likely affected Nations

The above system

comes under the
broad brand name as
DART system DART
represents Deep-
ocean Assessment
and Reporting of
Tsunami

This is how the DART

System operates

Kindly Note
Simply installing the Tsunami Warning System (TWS) will not change the
situation, unless it is associated with
Hazard Mapping
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Evacuation Planning (with trial & practice)

Sensitizing the community on risks involved and how important it is

to be aware of the dangers and possible solutions

No societal Impact will be visible by simply installing the system

Thank you