tsunami as a consequence of climate change

1. SAFETY TECHNIQUES ON TSUNAMI
ABSTRACT
Severe natural Hazard, like e.g. tsunamis or earthquakes, often lead to catastrophes with
spectacular consequences. In these days natural disasters caused loss hundreds of thousands of
human, damage to infrastructure, disturbance of financial activity and loss of billions of money
worth of material. The devastating impacts of tsunamis have received increased focus since the
Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, the most destructive tsunami in over 400 years of recorded
history. The tsunamis that occurred as a result of the earthquake in Japan in March 2011 further
emphasized the need for detection, monitoring, and early-warning technologies. The need for
the study is to aware people for the hazard of tsunami and saving maximum lives when tsunami
occurs there.
Although tsunamis are not new acts of nature, they have created many problems to
coastline regions in recent years. Accordingly, Japan's current tsunami attracted much more
attention than previously occurring tsunamis. Clearly this is not only because of the
wonderment and surprising characteristics, but also because of the structures and
infrastructures that failed when they were expected to resist natural disasters. Many buildings
that were designed and calculated to resist high level of earthquakes were damaged quickly by
this tsunami
ARTICLE INFO
tsunami, earthquakes,
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
2.1. APPLICATION SOFTWARE USING GEOSPATIAL
TECHNOLOGY

2. 2.1.1 Data Acquisition and Display
2.1.2 Model Scenario Database
2.1.3 Vulnerability Maps
2.1.4 Decision Support System and Standard Operating
2.1.5 Data Warehousing, Data Mining and Dissemination
3. STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES
4. Architectural and Structural Strategies
5. During a Tsunami
6. After a Tsunami
INTRODUCTION
Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning harbour wave. Tsunami is a phenomenon of gravity
waves produced in consequence of movement of the Ocean floor that as a result of earthquakes,
landslides, volcanic eruptions and large meteorite impacts.
(1) Time between crests of the wave can vary from a few minutes to over an hour, but generally
are in the range of 15 to 25 minutes.
(2) Tsunami is a very long-wavelength wave of water that is generated by earthquakes that
cause displacement of the seafloor, but Tsunami can also be generated by volcanic eruptions,
landslides and underwater explosions that causes displacement of water column vertically
upward. Many large underwater, whose epicenter are dislocated at the bottom of ocean or sea,
are able to generate tsunami waves. These events, so called tsunamigenic earthquakes (i.e.
Tsunami-

3. making), an characteristics by high energy, and the magnitude on the richer scale are M>7.0.
(3) The horizontal size of the zone of the strongest bottom oscillations for such an event may
be as great as 100 KM or more. An earthquake can be considered to be produced by rupturing
of part of the earth’s crust with a relative displacement of its two sides and the release of the
accumulate elastic strain that had been produced by tectonic processes. A landslide motion
process is usually caused by long term acculumulation of sediments at the some ocean bottom
area, submarine slopes of basins, into the river deltas. Volcanic eruptions represent also
impulsive disturbances, which can displace a great volume of water and generate extremely
destructive tsunami waves in the immediate source. For a given location on the Earth's surface,
the risk of a "direct" hit from an asteroid is light, researchers realized that an ocean impact had
the potential to be much more destructive due to the additional hazard of tsunami.
2.TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
The following are major components of the tsunami warning system. Estimation of Earthquake
Parameters A Network of land-based seismic stations for earthquake detection and estimation
of focal parameters in the two known tsunamigenic zones is a prime requirement of the warning
centre. INCOIS is receiving real-time seismic data from international seismic networks as well
as from India Meterological Department (IMD) and has been detecting all earthquake events
occurring in the Indian Ocean in the less than 15 minutes of occurrence. Necessary software
have been installed for real-time data reception, archiving, processing and auto-location of
earthquakes as well as for alert generation and automatic notification.
2.1. APPLICATION SOFTWARE USING GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY
One of the key components of the early warning centre is the development of application
software around GIS technology that performs the following operations:
(i) Acquisition, display and analysis of real time data of seismic sensors, tide gauges and BPRs.

4. (ii) Generation of model scenario database for assumed earthquake parameters as well as
Retrieval, Display and Analysis at the time of an event.
(iii) Generation, Display and Analysis of Bathymetric Data, Coastal Topographic Data and
Vulnerability Maps.
(iv) Decision support system for generation of tsunami advisories following a standard
operating procedure.
(v) Data warehousing, Data Mining and Data Dissemination
Details of the individual functions are given below:
2.1.1 Data Acquisition and Display
The warning centre currently receives seismic data, tidal data and BPR data through VSAT
links, Internet, and INSAT from multiple sources. All such data are centrally collected by high
end servers where, it is processed by ETL jobs for loading into staging database followed by
archiving staging database into the central database periodically. The requirement is to display
observational data (seismic, sea level) from selected platforms and modelled data (travel time,
run up heights, inundation areas, DTMs, etc.). Other need is to plot real-time sea-level data
overlaid on predicted tidal values at each specified location. The application software is capable
of performing all the above functions.
2.1.2 Model Scenario Database
Tunami N2 model has been used to estimate travel time and run-up height for a particular
earthquake. Since the model cannot be run at the time of an event, due to large computing time
as well as due to non-availability of required fault parameters in real-time, a database of pre-
run scenarios is essential. At the time of event, the closest scenario is picked from the database
for generating the warning. The output from the modelling exercise is a huge database
(approximate size is 6 Tera bytes) consisting of spatial maps depicting the water level in the
Indian Ocean region at each time-step for about 5000 simulations. The application software
has an interface to store, retrieve, analyze and display the spatial maps from the database.

5. The spatial layers currently being handled by this application include fault lines, fault segments
for different earthquake magnitudes, travel time maps, directivity maps, simulation results for
about 1800 coastal forecast points, graphs of model and observed tsunami wave profiles at each
coastal forecast point, etc. Application Software has a user friendly GUI/control panel depicted
on a spatial canvas of the Indian Ocean Region through which user can perform GIS operations
like navigating to a desired location, zoom, pan, query, analysis, etc.
2.1.3 Vulnerability Maps
Tsunami run-up causes flooding of seawater into the land up to few km resulting in loss of
human life and damage to property.
To minimise such losses, it is imperative to prepare coastal vulnerability maps indicating the
areas likely to be affected due to flooding and rending damage. Tunami N2 Model has been
customised for the Indian Ocean Region and has been validated using the December 2004
Tsunami observations. This model has been run for five historical earthquakes and the
predicted inundation areas are being overlaid on cadastral level maps of
1:5000 scale. The maps are to be used by the central and state administration responsible for
disaster management. These community-level inundation maps are extremely useful for
assessing the population and infrastructure at risk. These maps will be provided using the web-
GIS interface of the Application Software.
2.1.4 Decision Support System and Standard Operating
Procedure
The decision support software is intended to
(i) monitor the online input data from individual sensors,
(ii) generate automatic alarms based on preset decision rules for one or many of the input
parameters and

6. (iii) carry out criteria-based analysis for one or many of the above mentioned input parameters
to generate online advisories .
The criteria for generation of different types of advisories
(warning/alert/watch) for a particular region of the coast are to be based on the available
warning time (i.e. time taken by the tsunami wave to reach the particular coast). The warning
criteria are based on the premise that coastal areas falling within 60 minutes travel time from a
tsunamigenic earthquake source need to be warned based solely on earthquake information,
since enough time will not be available for confirmation of water levels from BPRs and tide
gauges. Those coastal areas falling outside the 60 minutes travel time from a tsunamigenic
earthquake source could be put under a watch status and upgraded to a warning only upon
confirmation of water-level data.
The application software is capable of doing all the desired functions in addition to generating
alerts (as and when each individual parameter exceeds a critical value) in the form of an alarm
at the warning centre as well as SMS alerts to specified persons on a mobile phone. Provision
in the software is made to modify threshold value, as and when need arises.
2.1.5 Data Warehousing, Data Mining and Dissemination
This module is capable of organizing the data and storing it in a centralized storage server with
appropriate load balancing. The entire data is organized using state-of-the-art user friendly
database for storing, analyzing and quick retrieval at the time of the event. This database is
linked to a dedicated tsunami website through which data/information/advisories are made
available to the users. The website support information in the form of text, maps and multi-
media.

8. 3.STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES
Although tsunamis are a real threat to certain oceanic coastline regions, in regard to risk-hazard
theory we can manage the risk factor by reducing the vulnerability variable in most cases. This
paper is to present particular strategies in order to decrease vulnerability of tsunami-prone
communities and to help to improve their resisting ability against hazards and the resulting
risks through proper site planning, building design and construction methods. Accordingly we
should first recognize the most important potential effects of tsunamis that cause the greatest
loss and injury. The presented strategies and techniques in this paper are classified in two
categories that at times may overlap. Also included are design standards and building codes,
local as well as general that have been considered in the case respectively. In addition to the
below listed tactics, there are other basic general strategies to consider in mitigating hazards
which will be discussed later.
1. To increase public awareness through education regarding tsunami risks
2. To provide methods to reduce vulnerability in these hazards
3. To inform, teach and prepare engineers, designers and official administers to plan and
design efficiently against tsunamis
4. To develop and update more effective warning systems and to offer new technologies in
this area
3.1. Large-Scale Considerations
This section discusses large-scale land use planning issues and considerations. It addresses site
planning aspects and advanced decisions which include suggestions to official decision
administers, designers and engineers involved in the planning and design of tsunami-prone
coastline regions.
Tsunami risk can be mitigated most effectively by avoiding or minimizing the exposure to
people and property through land use planning. Development should be prevented in high-
hazard areas wherever possible. Land use planning refers to large-scale decisions and plans
which determine location types and future development considerations in order to mitigate
community exposure and vulnerability to tsunami hazards. These issues comprise enacting
specific regulations, zoning considerations, assigning proper functions to subdivisions, etc. It
focuses on the types, patterns, and densities of uses that could and should be allowed within
potential tsunami inundation areas based on consideration of the risk.
4.Architectural and Structural Strategies

9. A. Construct the buildings high enough above high tide and local inundation level
As pointed before, it has been experienced in several tsunamis that one of the most effective
strategies to reduce the wave loads on the structure and walls of the building through a tsunami
attack, is to let the water pass through the ground floor of the building.
B. Install strong pillars or posts for the building
Strong pillars or posts can withstand the huge static and dynamic forces more than thin ones.
It has been observed that the dimension of the posts’ and columns’ cross section plays an
important role in this case.
C. Design for static and dynamic water pressure on the structural and nonstructural walls
D. Consider Impact load of debris left by tsunami’s attack
One of the points that should not be underestimated is that debris impact can create huge forces
to the building which may cause failure or collapse buildings. E. Apply proper Details and
joints in the structure Proper joints can cause a unanimous behavior of the building against
loads and may help the building to adopt most of its capacity to resist the loads.
F. Anchor buildings to foundations
Anchoring the columns to the foundation can help the constructions to withstand lateral and
uplift forces that are caused by tsunami waves.
G. Strengthen and reinforce existing buildings
5.During a Tsunami
If You Feel a Strong Coastal Earthquake
• Drop, cover, and hold on to protect yourself from the earthquake.
• When the shaking stops, gather members of your household and review your evacuation plan.
A tsunami may be coming within minutes.
• Use a NOAA Weather Radio or stay tuned to a Coast Guard emergency frequency station, or
a local radio or television station for updated emergency information.
• Follow instructions issued by local authorities. Recommended evacuation routes may be
different from the one you planned, or you may be advised to climb higher.

10. • If you hear an official tsunami warning or detect signs of a tsunami, evacuate at once. A
tsunami warning is issued when authorities are certain that a tsunami threat exists, and there
may be little time to get out.
• Take your emergency preparedness kit. Having supplies will make you more comfortable
during the evacuation.
• If you evacuate, take your animals with you. If it is not safe for you, it is not safe for them.
• Get to higher ground as far inland as possible. Watching a tsunami from the beach or cliffs
could put you in grave danger. If you can see the wave, you are too close to escape it.
• Avoid downed power lines and stay away from buildings and bridges from which heavy
objects might fall during an aftershock.
• Stay away until local officials tell you it is safe. A tsunami is a series of waves that may
continue for hours. Do not assume that after one wave the danger is over. The next wave may
be larger than the first one.
• If you evacuate, take your animals with you. If it is not safe for you, it is not safe for them.
• Get to higher ground as far inland as possible. Watching a tsunami from the beach or cliffs
could put you in grave danger. If you can see the wave, you are too close to escape it.
• Avoid downed power lines and stay away from buildings and bridges from which heavy
objects might fall during an aftershock.
• Stay away until local officials tell you it is safe. A tsunami is a series of waves that may
continue for hours. Do not assume that after one wave the danger is over. The next wave may
be larger than the first one.

11. 6.After a Tsunami
Staying Safe After a Tsunami
If you do nothing else:
1. Let friends and family know you’re safe.
Register yourself as safe on the Safe and Well website.
2. If evacuated, return only when authorities say it is safe to do so.
3. Continue listening to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio for updated information and
instructions.
5. If people around you are injured, practice CHECK, CALL, CARE. Check the scene to be
sure it’s safe for you to approach, call for help, and if you are trained, provide first aid to
those in need until emergency responders can arrive.
REFERENCES:
1. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad
500055, India(INDIAN TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM). RESEARCH
GATE
2. THE AMERICAN RED CROSS

12. 3. Designing for Tsunamis Seven Principles for Planning and Designing for
Tsunami Hazards. NOAA, USGS, FEMA, NSF, Alaska, California, Hawaii,
Oregon, and Washington. (2001). National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation
Program (NTHMP)
4. Council, Redwood City, California 94065. Federal emergency management
agency FEMA P646. Tsunami Awareness Kit General Tsunami
Resources.(2005). Tsunami Mitigation Strategies. Prepared by the Pacific
Disaster Center.