DISASTER MANAGEMENT

TSUNAMI
Submitted by
Bulbul Kachroo
Nidhi Magoon
Sahiba Gulati
Sukhman Chawla
Tarun Shyam
Aggarwal
TSUNAMI
The term Tsunami has been derived from a
Japanese term Tsu meaning 'harbor' and nami
meaning 'waves'. Tsunamis are popularly
called tidal waves but they actually have
nothing to do with the tides. These waves
which often affect distant shores, originate by
rapid displacement of water from the lake or
the sea either by seismic activity, landslides,
volcanic eruptions or large meteoroid
impacts. What ever the cause may be sea
water is displaced with a violent motion and
swells up, ultimately surging over land with
great destructive power. The effects of a
tsunami can be unnoticeable or even
destructive.
Causes of a Tsunami
The geological movements that cause
tsunamis are produced in three major
ways. The most common of these are
fault
movements on the sea floor,
accompanied
by an earth-quake. They release
huge amount of energy and have the
capacity to cross oceans. The degree of
movement depends on how fast the
earthquake occurs and how much
water
is displaced. The second most common
cause of the tsunami is a landslide
either occurring under
water or originating above the sea and
then
plunging into the water. The largest
tsunami
ever produced by a landslide was in
Lituya
Bay, Alaska 1958. The massive rock
slide
produced a wave that reached a high
water
mark of 50 - 150 meters above the
shoreline.
The third major cause of tsunami is
volcanic
activity. The flank of a volcano located
 Predictability:
General Characteristics: There are two distinct types of tsunami
Tsunami differs from ordinary ocean warning:
waves, a) International tsunami warning
which are produced by wind blowing systems
over and
water. The tsunamis travel much b) Regional warning systems.
faster than a) International Tsunami Warning
ordinary waves. Compared to normal Systems: The warning includes predicted
wave arrival time
speed of 100 kilometers per hour, at selected coastal communities where the
tsunami tsunami could travel in few hours. A
in the deep water of the ocean may tsunami watch is issued with subsequent
travel arrival time to other
the speed of a jet airplane - 800 geographic areas.
kilometers b) Regional Warning Systems usually use
per hour! And yet, in spite of their seismic data about nearby earthquakes to
speed, determine if there is a possible local threat
tsunami increases the water height of a tsunami. Such
only systems are capable enough to provide
30-45cm and often passes unnoticed warnings to the general public in less than
by 15 minutes.
ships at sea.
Contrary to the popular belief, the
tsunami
is not a single giant wave. It is
possible for a
tsunami to consist of ten or more
waves
which is then termed as 'tsunami
wave train'.
Possible risk reduction measures:
While it is of course not possible to prevent a tsunami, in certain tsunami prone
countries some measures have been taken to reduce the damage caused on
shore. Japan has implemented an extensive programme of building tsunami walls
of up to 4.5m (13.5 ft) high in front of populated
coastal areas. Other localities have built flood gates and channels to redirect the
water from incoming tsunamis. However, their effectiveness has been
questioned, as tsunamis are often higher than the barriers.

Some other systematic measures to protect coastlines against tsunamis include:

Site Planning and Land Management-
Within the broader framework of a comprehensive plan, site planning determines
the location, configuration, and density of development on particular sites and is,
therefore, an important tool in
reducing tsunami risk.
The designation and zoning of tsunami hazard areas for such open-space
uses as agriculture, parks and recreation, or natural hazard areas is
recommended as the first land use planning strategy. This strategy is designed to
keep development at a minimum in hazard areas.

In areas where it is not feasible to restrict land to open-space uses, other land
use planning measures can be used. These include strategically controlling the
type of development and uses allowed in hazard areas, and avoiding high-value
and highoccupancy uses to the greatest degree
possible.
Engineering structures

Most of the habitation of the fishing

community is seen in the coastal areas. The
houses constructed by them are mainly of
light
weight materials without any engineering
inputs. Therefore there is an urgent need to
educate the community about the good
construction practices that they should
adopt such as:

Site selection Avoid building or living

in buildings within several hundred feet
of the coastline as these areas are
Construction of water breakers to
more likely to experience damage from
reduce the velocity of waves.
tsunamis.
Use of water and corrosion resistant
Construct the structure on a higher
materials for construction.
ground level with respect to mean sea
Construction of community halls at
level.
higher locations, which can act as
Elevate coastal homes: Most tsunami
shelters at the time of a disaster.
waves are less than 3 meters in height.
Elevating house will help reduce
damage to property from most
tsunamis.
Tsunami-proof building

Atsunami-proof buildingis a purposefully

designed building which will, through its design
integrity, withstand and survive the forces of
atsunami wave or extremestorm surge. It
ishydrodynamicallyshaped to offer protection from
high waves.
An example of such an architecture is where
alaminar flowaround a building will protect the
walls. The structure can also rest on a
hollowmasonry blockthat for example can hold a
body of water to sustain a family. A design can
include battered walls,cantileversteps and a
wooden superstructure with the walls jutting out.
Bamboo ply panels can be added to cover the sides.
A structure like this, concomitant with its mechanical
strength, will provide its occupants with
independent potable water storage for an extended
period of time. The first example known has been
constructed atPoovarIsland in
southernKerala,India.
 Case study-1

Indian ocean Tsunami-2004

(A secondary effect of
earthquake)
Tsunami- 2004

On December 26, 2004, the greatest

earthquake in 40 years occurred
about 150 kilometers off the west
coast of northern Sumatra Island in
Indian Ocean just off the coast of
Indonesia. The earthquake generated
a disastrous tsunami that caused
destruction in 11 countries bordering
the Indian Ocean.

The 9.0 magnitude (for 5 minutes)

quake created a series of tsunamis
that caused great destruction and
loss of life throughout the Indian
Ocean basin, within several hours of
the initial event.

The earthquake has been titled the

Sumatra-Andaman Islands
Earthquake and is the highest
magnitude earthquake in the region
in over 40 years. Over 227,898
people have been confirmed dead
making this the fourth largest death
toll from an earthquake in recorded
history. Several years after the quake
 Causes

The earthquake that caused the tsunami

struck at 7:58am on December 26th 2004
The earthquake was caused by the
subduction of the Indo-Australian plate
(oceanic) under the Eurasian plate
(continental) 240km off the coast of Indonesia
This mega-thrust earthquake involved a 20
metre uplift of the sea floor all the way along
a fault line which was over 1000km in length
The uplift of the sea floor caused a
displacement of billions of tonnes of water
setting in motion a tsunami wave which hit
the coast of Indonesia within half an hour of
the earthquake
Features of Tsunami- 2004
1. The December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was caused by an earthquake that is
thought to have had the energy of 23,000 atomic bombs.
2. The epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake was under the Indian Ocean near the west
coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
3. The violent movement of sections of the Earths crusts known as tectonic plates
displaced an enormous amount of water, sending powerful shock waves in every
direction.
4. The tectonic plates in this area had been pushing against each other, building
pressure for thousands of years they continue to do so and will likely cause
underwater earthquakes and tsunamis in the future.
5. The shifting of the earths plates in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004 caused a
rupture more than 600 miles long, displacing the seafloor above the rupture by
perhaps 10 yards horizontally and several yards vertically. That doesn't sound like
much, but the trillions of tons of rock that were moved along hundreds of miles
caused the planet to shudder with the largest magnitude earthquake in 40 years.
6. Within hours of the earthquake, killer waves radiating from the epicenter slammed
into the coastline of Indian Ocean countries, damaging countries from east Africa to
Thailand.
7. Despite a lag of up to several hours between the earthquake and the impact of the
tsunami, nearly all of the victims were taken completely by surprise because there
were no tsunami warning systems in the Indian Ocean to detect tsunamis or to warn
the general populace living around the ocean.
8. By the end of the day of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, it had already killed 150,000
people. The final death toll was 283,000.
9. The Indian Ocean tsunami traveled as far as 3,000 miles to Africa and still arrived with
sufficient force to kill people and destroy property.
10. Many people in Indonesian reported that they saw animals fleeing for high ground
minutes before the tsunami arrived very few animal bodies were found afterward.
11. The risk of famine and epidemic diseases was extremely high immediately following
Impacts of the earthquake
despite being 240km off the coast
the seismic waves from the
earthquake still caused damage to
poorly built homes and better built
structures over 3 storeys high in
Banda Aceh (a city on the coast of
Sumatra)
Primary effects of the
tsunami
The wave killed people in 14
different countries around the
Indian Ocean totalling over
250,000
The highest death toll was on
the Indonesian island of Sumatra
where over 130,000 were killed
and over 30,000 remain missing
In Sumatra over 500,000 people
were made homeless, over
80,000 houses were destroyed as
well as serious damage to any
ports, boats, roads, bridges,
hospitals, forests and crops
within 1km of the shore
8 people were killed in South
Africa which is over 8000km from
the epicentre and over 8000
tourists from Australia, Europe
and America were also killed
 Secondry effects of Tsunami
Diseases such as cholera
and dysentery spread due to
the lack of clean water and
sanitation in the refugee
camps killing an estimated
150,000
Incomes were lost due to the
destruction of fishing boats
and damage to the ocean bed
Loss of foreign income from
tourism was significant in
Thailand
Emotional and psychological
impacts on the survivors and
aid workers
Land disputes broke out as
documents were lost in the
devastation and in some
cases land was destroyed by
erosion from the wave
 Death toll & loss
The hardest-hit and most severely affected countries were India,
Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Malaysia, Myanmar,
Seychelles, Somalia and the United Republic of Tanzania were also
affected.

Total damages are estimated to be US$470 million, 62% of Gross

Domestic Product (GDP). Of these losses, direct losses are US$298
million,or about 8% of the replacement cost of the national capital
stock. Severe damage was caused to houses, tourist resorts, boats and
other fishing equipment, schools, health facilities, transport and
communication equipment, water and sanitation, and electricity
infrastructure.
 Death toll & loss in India
The estimated number of casualties in India is 16,000, but at least 6,000 more
are missing. It is expected that the death toll will rise. Hardest hit were the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands which were close to the tsunami generating area.
Along India's southeastern coast, several villages were swept away, and
thousands
On of fishermen
the western coast ofat sea were missing.
India' mainland, hardest
hit was the state of
Tamil Nadu.
The southern peninsular
region comprising
Kerala and part of Tamil
Nadu on the west coast
and the rest of Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,
and Pondicherry on the
east coast is a region of
low-to-moderate
seismicity. The area lies
in the Stable
Continental Region,
which is not believed to
be exposed to the
hazard of strong
earthquakes. The
strongest known
 Responses
Short term responses
Bodies were buried in mass
graves to help prevent the spread
of diseases
Over $7billion was provided by
governments and NGOs (charities)
in the aid effort and to help with
reconstruction
Up to 5 million people had to be
relocated into temporary refugee
camps and had to be provided with
shelter, food and water
It took months to simply clear the
debris before rebuilding could start
again
Long term responses
The Indonesian government
decided to relocate the people from
the refugee camps straight into new
homes. The building of these new
home took a lot longer than
expected due to the lack of building
materials and destruction of main
transport routes.
An tsunami early warning system
(shown below) has now been
installed in the Indian Ocean at a
cost of $20 million
 JAPAN TSUNAMI, 2011
The2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of
Thoku often referred to in Japan as theGreat
East Japan Earthquakeand also known as the2011
Tohoku earthquakeand the3.11 Earthquake, was
amagnitude9.0 underseamegathrust
earthquakeoff the coast ofJapanthat occurred at
14:46JST(05:46UTC) on Friday 11 March
2011,with theepicentreapproximately 70
kilometres east of theOshika
PeninsulaofThokuand thehypocenterat an
underwater depth of approximately 30km.

It was the most powerful knownearthquake ever

to have hit Japan, and the fifthmost powerful
earthquake in the worldsince modern record-
keeping began in 1900.The earthquake triggered
powerfultsunamiwaves that reached heights of
up to 40.5 metres (133ft) inMiyakoin
Thoku'sIwate Prefecture,and which, in
theSendaiarea, travelled up to 10km inland.

The earthquake movedHonshu(the main island of

Japan) 2.4m (8ft) east and shifted the Earth on its
axis by estimates of between 10cm (4in) and
25cm (10in),and generated sound waves
detected by the low orbitingGOCEsatellite.
 An upthrust of 6 to 8meters along a 180-km The tsunami
wide seabed at 60km offshore from the east
warning issued by
coast of Thoku,resulted in a
majortsunamithat brought destruction along
theJapan
thePacificcoastline of Japan's northern islands. Meteorological
The tsunami propagated throughout the Pacific Agencywas the most
Ocean region reaching the entire Pacific coast of serious on its
North and South America fromAlaskatoChile. warning scale; it
Warnings were issued and evacuations carried rated as a "major
out in many countries bordering the Pacific. tsunami", being at
However, while the tsunami affected many of least 3m (9.8ft)
these places, the extent was minor.Chile's high.
Pacific coast, one of the furthest from Japan at The actual height
about 17,000km (11,000mi) distant, was struck
by waves 2m (6.6ft) high,compared with an
prediction varied, the
estimated wave height of 38.9meters (128ft) at greatest being for
Omoe peninsula, Miyako city, Japan. Miyagi at 6m (20ft)
high.
The tsunami
inundated a total
area of
 OBSERVATIONS

On 13 March 2011, theJapan Meteorological Agency(JMA)

published details of tsunami observations recorded around the
coastline of Japan following the earthquake. These observations
included tsunami maximum readings of over 3m (9.8ft) at the
following locations and times on 11 March 2011, following the
earthquake at 14:46 JST:[132]
15:12 JST offKamaishi 6.8m (22ft)
15:15 JST funato 3.2m (10ft) or higher
15:20 JST Ishinomaki-shi Ayukawa 3.3m (11ft) or higher
15:21 JST Miyako 4.0m (13.1ft) or higher
15:21 JST Kamaishi 4.1m (13ft) or higher
15:44 JST Erimo-cho Shoya 3.5m (11ft)
15:50 JST Sma 7.3m (24ft) or higher
16:52 JST arai 4.2m (14ft)
 CASUALITIES
TheNational Police Agencyhas
confirmed 15,883 deaths,6,150
injured,and 2,643 people
missingacross twentyprefectures.
Of the 13,135 fatalities recovered by
11 April 2011, 12,143 or 92.5% died by
drowning. Victims aged 60 or older
accounted for 65.2% of the deaths,
with 24% of total victims being in their
70s.As of March 2012, Japanese police
data showed that 70% of the 3,279 still
missing were aged 60 or over,
including 893 in their 70s and 577 in
their 80s. Of the total confirmed
victims, 14,308 drowned, 667 were
crushed to death or died from internal
injuries, and 145 perished from burns.
Japan'sNational Police
Agencysaid on 3 April
2011, that 45,700 buildings
were destroyed and
144,300 were damaged by
the quake and tsunami.
The damaged buildings
included 29,500 structures
in Miyagi Prefecture, 12,500
in Iwate Prefecture and
2,400 in Fukushima
Prefecture.Three hundred
hospitals with 20 beds or
more in Thoku were
damaged by the disaster,
with 11 being completely
destroyed.
 The earthquake and tsunami created an estimated 2425million
tons of rubble and debris in Japan.
An estimated 230,000 automobiles and trucks were damaged or
destroyed in the disaster. As of the end of May 2011, residents of
Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures had requested
deregistration of 15,000 vehicles, meaning that the owners of
those vehicles were writing them off as unrepairable or
unsalvageable.
 AFTERMATH
The aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami included both a humanitarian
crisis and a major economic impact. The tsunami resulted in over 340,000
displaced people in the Thoku region, and shortages of food, water, shelter,
medicine and fuel for survivors. In response the Japanese government
mobilized the Self-Defence Forces, while many countries sent search and
rescue teams to help search for survivors. Aid organizations both in Japan and
worldwide also responded, with the Japanese Red Cross reporting $1billion in
donations. The economic impact included both immediate problems, with
industrial production suspended in many factories, and the longer term issue
of the cost of rebuilding which has been estimated at 10trillion
($122billion). In comparison to the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake the East
Japan Earthquake brought serious damage to an extremely wide range.
The aftermath of the twin disasters also left Japan's coastal cities and towns
with nearly 25 million tons of debris. In Ishinomaki alone, there were 17 trash
collection sites 200 yards long and at least 15 feet high. An official in the
city's government trash disposal department estimated that it would take
three years to empty these sites.