ArticlePDF Available

Critical Factors for Run-up and Impact of the Tohoku Earthquake Tsunami

Authors:

Abstract and Figures

The earthquake of March 11 of magnitude 9 offshore Tohoku, Japan, was followed by a tsunami wave with particularly destructive impact, over a coastal area extending approx. 850 km along the Pacific Coast of Honshu Island. First arrival times and measurements and maximum height were recorded by the Japanese monitoring system (wherever there was no failure of the equipment). The maximum run-up is well evident in satellite images available through USGS, Google and other institutes. Moreover, personal observations of Prof. Lekkas were made during a field survey in March 2011. The results of the study of the tsunami impact and run-up show the variety of factors affecting the run-up, creating zones with similar phenomena, but also specific locations where run-up exceeds by far the run-up zone maximum values. This differentiation, observed also in the past by other authors, is here attributed to the general orientation of the coast, the distance from the tsunami generation area, bathymetry offshore, the coastline morphology and land geomorphology. In certain cases that funnelling and reflection effects in narrow gulfs parallel to the tsunami propagation vector were combined with narrow valleys onshore, peak run-up exceeded 20m, or even 40 m (Miyagi coastline, Ogatsu, Onagawa, etc.).
Content may be subject to copyright.
International Journal of Geosciences, 2011, 2, 310-317
doi:10.4236/ijg.2011.23033 Published Online August 2011 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ijg)
Copyright © 2011 SciRes. IJG
Critical Factors for Run-up and Impact of the Tohoku
Earthquake Tsunami
Efthymios Lekkas, Emmanouil Andreadakis*, Irene Kostaki, Eleni Kapourani
School of Science, Department of Dynamic, Tectonic and Applied Geology,
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens,Greece
E-mail: *eandreadk@geol.uoa.gr
Received April 20, 2011; revised May 27, 2011; accepted July 7, 2011
Abstract
The earthquake of March 11 of magnitude 9 offshore Tohoku, Japan, was followed by a tsunami wave with
particularly destructive impact, over a coastal area extending approx. 850 km along the Pacific Coast of
Honshu Island. First arrival times and measurements and maximum height were recorded by the Japanese
monitoring system (wherever there was no failure of the equipment). The maximum run-up is well evident in
satellite images available through USGS, Google and other institutes. Moreover, personal observations of
Prof. Lekkas were made during a field survey in March 2011. The results of the study of the tsunami impact
and run-up show the variety of factors affecting the run-up, creating zones with similar phenomena, but also
specific locations where run-up exceeds by far the run-up zone maximum values. This differentiation, ob-
served also in the past by other authors, is here attributed to the general orientation of the coast, the distance
from the tsunami generation area, bathymetry offshore, the coastline morphology and land geomorphology.
In certain cases that funnelling and reflection effects in narrow gulfs parallel to the tsunami propagation vec-
tor were combined with narrow valleys onshore, peak run-up exceeded 20m, or even 40 m (Miyagi coastline,
Ogatsu, Onagawa, etc.).
Keywords: Tohoku, Earthquake, Tsunami, Run-Up
1. Magnitude and Intensity of the
Earthquake
On March 11 2011, the tectonic boundary between the
Pacific and Eurasian plates, off the coast of Northeastern
Japan, ruptured in a great (Mw = 9.0) earthquake, at
05:46:23 UTC (Universal Time Coordinated), 14:46:23
JST (Japan Standard Time) [1,2]. The hypocenter is cal-
culated at 32 km by JMA [2] and 24 km by USGS depth
[1]. Centroid Moment Tensor analysis showed a reverse
fault type with WNW-ESE compressional axis, corre-
sponding to depth and orientation of the Japan Trench [2].
Main rupture was located in the North-East of the rupture
starting point (shallower side of the hypocenter), and
maximum slip amounted to about 25 m [2]. The size of
the main fault is estimated at 450 km length and 150 km
width, confirmed by first day aftershock locations. Near-
source acceleration waveforms by National Research
Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention
(NIED) [3], display two distinct phases of ground motion,
which suggest the existence of at least two areas of large
slip. Apparently, the focus belongs to the off Miyagi area
of subduction zone earthquakes. The main shock trig-
gered a major tsunami that swept the Eastern shoreline of
Honshu (main island). The main shock was preceded by
numerous foreshocks, the greatest of which occurred on
March 9, 2011 and had a magnitude of 7.5 [2]. The focal
mechanism of the earthquake is also consistent with a
subduction zone boundary. A large number of after-
shocks occurred, four of which measured Mw > 7.0. The
first of these aftershocks occurred quite soon (aprox. 30
min.) after the main shock and it measured 7.4, and three
more major ones measured 7.7, 7.5 and 7.4 [2].
A maximum seismic intensity of 7 (JMA scale) was
recorded at Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture. JMA in-
tensities of 6+ or 6– were observed in wide area along
East Honshu coast, in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and
Ibaraki prefectures (Figure 1) [2]. The meisoseismal
area extends within the tectonic boundaries of N.
American-Okhotsk plate, that is, on the upper block of
the rupture, as expected.
E. LEKKAS ET AL.
Copyright © 2011 SciRes. IJG
311
Figure 1. Intensity map for the 9.0 Mw event of March 11, 2011 (Data from JMA, map by authors). The Japanese intensity
scale is used here, so this does not correspond to EMS or Mercalli intensities but instead it reflects measured seismic accel-
eration distribution.
2. Tsunami Characteristics
Tohoku was hit by tsunami intensities ranging in the
worst cases from IX up to XI (or even XII) in the Papa-
dopoulos-Imamura (2001) scale [4]. That is, in the worst
of cases (XII intensity tsunami) all masonry buildings
were demolished. From XI intensity up, floodwater
backwash has drifted all debris, cars etc. to the sea and
objects of all sizes were deposited as sediment into low
lying coastal areas. This took place especially where
backwash was obstructed by obstacles such as embank-
ments, hills, forested areas, elevated roads etc. and in
areas that had subsided below sea level.
Coastal subsidence due to earthquake deformation was
measured by the Geospatial Information Authority of
Japan [5], showing a maximum of 2 m subsidence off-
shore and a maximum of 1 - 1.5 m onshore, namely at
Ishinomaki area, Miyagi prefecture and Ojika peninsula.
A vertical deformation of 1.2 m was measured at Ojika
peninsula. These areas suffered thousands of casualties
because of the tsunami inundation, since the tsunami
wave arrived at offshore Miyagi area first, combined
with the maximum observed subsidence. Even greater
uplift was observed at the easternmost part of the Eura-
sian plate, until the Japan Trench. Maximum uplift was
measured over 4.5 m, 20 km east of the epicentral area
(Figure 2).
JMA issued the first tsunami arrival, recorded at 14:45
JST at Kamaishi, Iwate prefecture, as a sea withdrawal
[6,7]. The fact that the first tsunami arrival is recorded
simultaneously or even earlier than the earthquake waves
themselves may be an indication of crustal deformation,
subsidence as a result of the earthquake rupture.
First actual tsunami arrival is recorded at Ishinomaki,
Miyagi prefecture, at 14:46 JST with a measured height
of 0.1 m.
E. LEKKAS ET AL.
Copyright © 2011 SciRes. IJG
312
Figure 2. Tsunami run-up zones for the Tohoku earthquake 11-3-2011. Propagation vectors are marked with black arrows,
indicative peak run-ups are marked with red triangles and run-up values with black-yellow numbers. Contour lines show
crust uplift (red) and subsidence (blue) in meters. The maximum runup zones indicate areas where runup generally did not
exceed the indicated elevation, except for the cases of peaks, due to local conditions, discussed in the text.
The maximum tsunami height was recorded by JMA
at Miyako, Iwate prefecture, at March 11 2011, 15:26
JST reaching a height of 8.5 m. It is clear that tsunami
run-up reached a greater height, as concluded by field
surveying and disasters. However, estimations of tsu-
nami height are higher than the ones recorded by JMA.
Port and Airport Research Institute (PARI) reports inun-
dation up to 14.8 m (Onagawa port) [8]. This is not so
surprising though, if one takes into account that almost
one kilometer inland, the tsunami height was measured
to more than 10m (Figure 5).
Run-up is defined as “the maximum vertical elevation
of a point on initially dry land that is inundated by the
waves” [9]. The measurements in Table 1 show first
arrival and maximum height in Hokkaido Prefecture
(Hokkaido Island north of Honshu Island) and Aomori,
Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, and Ibaraki Prefectures,
along East coast of Honshu, from North to South [6,7]. A
E. LEKKAS ET AL.
Copyright © 2011 SciRes. IJG
313
Table 1. First arrival times and heights and maximum measured heights of tsunami wave as recorded by JMA, from Hok-
kaido, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures.
Location Date/Time (JST) First arrival height (m) Date/Time (JST) Maximum measured height (m)
Earthquake occurrence 11 March 14:46
Nemuro (Hokkaido Pref.) 11 March 15:34 <+0.1 m 11 March 15:57 +2.8m
Tokachi (Hokkaido Pref.) 11 March 15:26 –0.2 m 11 March 15:57 >+2.8m
Urakawa (Hokkaido Pref.) 11 March 15:19 –0.2 m 11 March 16:42 +2.7m
Mutsu (Aomori Pref.) 11 March 15:20 –0.1 m 11 March 18:16 +2.9m
Miyako (Iwate Pref.) 11 March 14:48 +0.2 m 11 March 15:26 >8.5m
Kamaishi (Iwate Pref.) 11 March 14:45 –0.1 m 11 March 15:21 >+4.1m
Ofunato (Iwate Pref.) 11 March 14:46 –0.2 m 11 March 15:18 >8.0m
Ishinomaki (Miyagi Pref.) 11 March 14:46 +0.1 m 11 March 15:25 >+7.6m
Soma (Fukushima Pref.) 11 March 14:55 +0.3 m 11 March 15:50 >+7.3m
Oarai (Ibaraki Pref.) 11 March 15:15 +1.8 m 11 March 16:52 +4.2m
great percentage of Eastern Honshu low-lying coastal
areas were inundated by the tsunami wave. Ibaraki and
Chiba prefectures were less inundated than the northern
areas (Chiba less than Ibaraki), mainly due to increased
distance to tsunami generation area, less crust deforma-
tion and coastal orientation (Chiba).
Inundation refers to the maximum horizontal penetra-
tion of the waves in the direction perpendicular to the
beach, during the flooding [9]. The identification of a
data point characterizing water penetration can be made
either on the basis of the recognition of a specific wa-
termark, such as a debris line deposited by the wave,
either on land or in vegetation, or through personal re-
ports from eyewitnesses. On occasion, it may be possible
to determine neither run-up, nor inundation, but only to
infer the local flow depth, usually from watermarks on
the sides of walls or from debris left dangling on trees or
posts.
The tsunami generation area extended for several hun-
dred kilometers along the uplift zone of the crust defor-
mation area. The combination of uplift and subsidence
zones instantly built up a potential difference that
reached the maximum of 6.5 meters offshore, initiating
the wave. Run-up was zoned along the meisoseismal area
of Tohoku coast, creating five major zones. A maximum
run-up zone developed at Miyagi coast and South Iwate
coast (zone C), two medium run-up zones extended
along North Iwate coast and Fukushima coast (zones B
and D respectively) and two minimum run-up zones ex-
tended at Aomori coast, and the coast of Ibaraki and
Chiba (zones A and E).
3. Peak Run-Up Locations
Field observations in Tohoku, and especially Miyagi,
Fukushima, Ibaraki and Iwate prefectures, showed that
there are many areas where run-up exceeded the general
maximum value by far. That is, in Miyagi, where maxi-
mum run-up was generally below 15 m, there were loca-
tions that it reached more than 20, 30 or 40 meters. It
was observed that this happened in small valleys with
rather high slope angle, which are in fact the inland con-
tinuation of respective similar shaped bays and small
gulfs. In the following (Figures 3, 4, 5) the highest ob-
served run-up locations are shown in Ogatsu and Ona-
gawa, where run-up exceeded 30 and 40 meters respec-
tively.
4. Discussion
A large amount of data and thorough research on tsunami
generation, propagation and inland propagation derived
from various researchers and sources, especially in the
recent decades, and mostly after the Indonesian tsunami
of 2004. The latter, gave the opportunity of investigation
along all kinds of distances from the source, along sev-
eral kinds of shoreline and bathymetries and in areas
with a wide range of magnitudes for tsunami run-up,
inundation and depth. The parameters examined for their
implication on tsunami run-up for the Tohoku earthquake
in this paper, have been individually or generally ana-
lyzed and reviewed by many for previous cases. Thus,
some of their conclusions can be compared to observa-
tions of the present investigation.
Geist [9] summarizes some of these conclusions of
previous investigations on the subject. Carrier [10] sug-
gests that the largest tsunami amplitudes in many cases
are traced to the direct arrival of the tsunami broadside
from the rupture area, while, along shoreline segments
oblique to the rupture area, the largest tsunami ampli-
tudes are attributed to the excitation and propagation of
edge waves [10-13] (trapped long waves analogous to
E. LEKKAS ET AL.
Copyright © 2011 SciRes. IJG
314
Table 2. Comparative data for the tsunami run-up zones after the Tohoku earthquake.
Zone Area
Average max.
Run-up (m) Run-up
peaks (m)
Tsunami propagation
vector vs. shoreline
direction
Minimum
Distance from
epicentre (km)
Minimum
Distance from
offshore uplift
(
km
)
Subsidence
onshore (m)
Maximum
Uplift offshore
(m)
A Aomori <5 Subparallel 270 130 0.0 - 0.5 0.0 - 0.5
B N. Iwate <10 Subparallel – Diagonal 180 78 0.5 - 1.0 0.5 - 1.0
C S. Iwate, Miyagi <15 42, 37, 28 Perpendicular 132 70 1.0 - 1.5 4.5
D Fukushima <10 13,12 Perpendicular 178 84 0.5 - 1.0 2.5 - 4.5
E Ibaraki <5 7 Perpendicular –
Diagonal 240 40 0.0 - 0.5 1.0 - 2.0
E Chiba <5 Subparallel 322 40 0.0 - 0.5 0.0 - 0.5
Figure 3. Three satellite images in subsequent zoom-in and a photo, from Ogatsu–Wan and Ogatsu town (Miyagi, zone C,
15m maximum run-up). Bathymetry and onshore geomorphology created funneling effects and wave reflection within the
canyon and narrow valleys enhanced the tsunami effects. As a result, peak run-up reached the elevation of 38 m. Not only did
the tsunami reach this elevation, but it arrived with several meters of height, performing a totally devastating run (Photos A,
B, C from Google Earth, photo D by E. Lekkas during the field trip to Japan).
Figure 4. Four satellite images in subsequent zoom-in, from Onagawa Wan and Onagawa town (Miyagi, zone C, 15 maximum
run-up). For the same reasons as for Ogatsu, Onagawa was hit by extremely disastrous tsunami run-up reaching 42 meters. In
the red circles (photos A, B and C) a 30 m long vessel is shown, at a distance of 750 meters from the coast (elevation 21 m).
E. LEKKAS ET AL. 315
Figure 5. Onagawa town. At least 10m of wave height swept away the whole “corridor” within the narrow valley. The red
circle indicates the position of a van.
Love waves in seismology [14]). Ishii and Abe suggest
that phase and group velocities of edge waves depend on
the shelf slope angle [15]. For irregular coastlines, edge
waves will be scattered and reflected and, where these
different phases (trapped and nontrapped) interfere con-
structively and at antipodes, large nearshore tsunami
amplitudes can be realized.
Lavigne et al. [16,17] report that marine surveys after
the 2004 tsunami refer that uniformity of tsunami runup
indicates that there is limited co-seismic landslide pres-
ence involved. They conclude that local geomorphologi-
cal configurations of the coastline and/or the seafloor
were responsible for exceptional runup heights along the
west coast of the Banda Aceh district (Indonesia).
Pattiaratchi and Wijeratne (2009) [18] studied sea-
level records during the Indonesian tsunami at stations
on Sri Lanka and Australia. They showed that similar
tsunami behaviour responds to similar local and regional
topography, although the relative magnitude of the tsu-
namis varies according to the differences of the source.
Synolakis et al. [19], Duong et al. [20], Jinadasa [21],
Parcharidis et al. [22] and Yeh et al. [23], among many
others studied the Indian Ocean tsunami, reaching simi-
lar results after investigations along the affected areas.
5. Conclusions
Tsunami run-up zoning and peaks are the result of a
combination of factors, summarized at the following:
Orientation of the propagation vector to the mean
shoreline direction. Run-up was higher at areas where
the tsunami propagation vector was perpendicular to
the main shoreline direction. This took place at the
areas of South Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and a part
of Ibaraki coast. Oblique shorelines were generally
affected by lower run-up, and as it seems by the map
zonation, this parameter along with the distance from
the source created the first order effects, as far as
run-up is concerned, in this case, once the run-up
peaks are observed within the broader zones mapped.
Distance from the tsunami generation area. Energy of
tsunami wave is consumed along the way, so the
shorter the distance, the higher the tsunami energy,
and the higher the run-up. The shortest distances from
the epicenter were from South Iwate and Miyagi,
while the shortest distances from the nearest uplift
area were from Ibaraki, Chiba and Miyagi. Of course
it is difficult to discriminate which of these two (ori-
entation or distance) was the dominant parameter,
once both distance and obliquity of shorelines are in-
creased laterally from the meisoseismal area towards
north and south.
Bathymetry of the offshore area. Coastal geomor-
phology, bathymetry and seafloor topography are be-
lieved to be the major influencing factors to deter-
mine the severity of tsunami disasters, as well as nar-
row continental shelves and canyons. On the contrary,
natural barriers and coral reefs protect the coasts from
Copyright © 2011 SciRes. IJG
E. LEKKAS ET AL.
316
tsunamis. In major canyons, funneling effects and over-
lapping reflections further enhance tsunami height.
Land morphology actually proved to enhance run-up
in the same way as bathymetry. That is, the highest
peaks of tsunami run-up were observed where narrow,
short, funnel-like valleys reached the coastline with a
direction parallel to the tsunami propagation vector.
Run-up in these areas exceeded by far the zone
maximum, due to the particularities of geomorphol-
ogy. For instance, within the 15 m maximum run-up
zone, altitudes of 28 m, 38 m and 42 m were ob-
served at Ogatsu and Onagawa (Miyagi prefecture).
Crustal deformation during the event, which was
simply mentioned here as a simple potential differen-
tiation during the quake (like an instant change of
hydraulic head in adjacent areas) has to be further in-
vestigated as a factor for run-up. The size of the area
and the magnitude of the deformation suggest a very
large scale tsunami generation area, where the source
mechanism itself would have to be examined as a
whole.
6. References
[1] U. S. Geological Survey Magnitude 9.0, “Near the East
Coast of Honshu,” Japan.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ (accessed at April 2011).
[2] Japan Meteorological Agency, “Tohoku Region Pacific
Ocean Earthquake Report 1-34, March 11- April 8 2011,”
in Japanese, 2011.
http://www.jma.go.jp (last accessed April 2011).
[3] National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disas-
ter Prevention, “2011 Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku
earthquake, Strong Ground Motion,” Emergency Meeting
of Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion,
March 13, 2011.
http://www.bosai.go.jp/e/ (accessed April 2011).
[4] G. Papadopoulos and F. Imamura, “A Proposal for a New
Tsunami Intensity Scale,” ITS 2001 Proceedings, Session
5, No. 5-1, 2001, pp. 569-577.
[5] Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, “The 2011 off
the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake: Coseismic Slip
Distribution Model (Preliminary),” 2011.
http://www.gsi.go.jp (last accessed April 2011).
[6] Japan Meteorological Agency, “The 2011 off the Pacific
Coast of Tohoku Earthquake,” 2011.
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/2011_Earthquake.html (last
accessed April 2011).
[7] Japan Meteorological Agency, “Tsunami Observation
Stations Report: Miyako, Ofunato. 23 March 2011,” in
Japanese, 2011.
http://www.jma.go.jp, (last accessed April 2011).
[8] Port and Airport Research Insitute (PARI), “Executive
Summary of Urgent Field Survey of Earthquake and
Tsunami Disasters by the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of
Tohoku Earthquake,” March 25, 2011.
http://www.pari.go.jp/, last accessed April 2011.
[9] E. L. Geist, “Complex Earthquake Rupture and Local
Tsu- Namis,” Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 107,
2002, pp. 2086-2101. doi:10.1029/2000JB000139
[10] G. F. Carrier, “On-Shelf Tsunami Generation and Coastal
Propagation, in Tsunami,” In: Y. Tsuchiya and N. Shuto,
Eds, Progress in Prediction, Disaster Prevention and
Warning, Kluwer Academy Publishing, Norwell, 1995.
pp. 1-20,
[11] J. D. Fuller and L. A. Mysak, “Edge Waves in the Pres-
ence of an Irregular Coastline,” Journal of Physical
Oceanography, Vol. 7, No. 6, 1977, pp. 846-855.
doi:10.1175/1520-0485(1977)007<0846:EWITPO>2.0.C
O;2
[12] F. I. Gonzalez, K. Satake, F. Boss and H. O. Mofjeld,
“Edge Wave and Non-Trapped Modes of the 25 April
1992 Cape Mendocino Tsunami,” Earth and Environ-
mental Science, Vol. 144, No. 3-4, 1995, pp. 409-426.
doi:10.1007/BF00874375
[13] K. Fujima, R. Dozono and T. Shigemura, “Generation
and Propagation of Tsunami Accompanying Edge Waves
on a Uniform Sloping Shelf,” Coastal Engineering, Vol.
42, 2000, pp. 211-236.
[14] K. Sezawa and K. Kanai, “On Shallow Water Waves
Transmitted in the Direction Parallel to a Sea Coast, with
Special Reference to Love-Waves in Heterogeneous Me-
dia,” Bulletin of the Earthquake Research Institution, Vol.
17, 1939, pp. 685-694.
[15] H. Ishii and K. Abe, “Propagation of tsunami on a linear
slope between two flat regions, part I, Edge wave,” Jour-
nal of Physics of the Earth, Vol. 28, No. 5, 1980, pp.
531-541. doi:10.4294/jpe1952.28.531
[16] P. R. Cummins, L. S. L. Kong and K. Satake, “Introduc-
tion to “Tsunami Science Four Years after the 2004 In-
dian Ocean Tsunami, Part II: Observation and Data
Analysis,” Pure and Applied Geophysics, Vol. 165, No.
11-12, 2009.
[17] F. Lavigne, et al., “Reconstruction of Tsunami Inland
Propagation on December 26, 2004 in Banda Aceh, In-
donesia, through Field Investigations,” Pure and Applied
Geophysics, Vol. 166, No. 1-2, 2009, pp. 259-281.
doi:10.1007/s00024-008-0431-8
[18] C. B. Pattiaratchi and E. M. S. Wijeratne, “Tide gauge
observations of the 2004-2007 Indian Ocean tsunamis
from Sri Lanka and western Australia,” Pure and Applied
Geophysics, Vol. 166, No. 1-2, 2009, pp. 233-258.
doi:10.1007/s00024-008-0434-5
[19] C. E. Synolakis and L. Kong, “Runup of the December
2001 Indian Ocean Tsunami,” Earthquake Spectra, Vol.
22, 2006, pp. S67-S91.
[20] N. A Duong, F. Kimata and I. Meilano, “Assessment of
Bathymetry Effects on Tsunami Propagation in Viet
Nam,” Advances in Natural Sciences, Vol. 9, No. 6,
2008.
[21] S. U. P. Jinadasa, “Interaction of Tsunami Wave Propa-
gation with Coastal Bathymetry and Geomorphology: A
Case Study in Sri Lanka,” Hydrographic and Oceano-
graphic Department, Japan Coast Guard, Tokyo, 2008.
Copyright © 2011 SciRes. IJG
E. LEKKAS ET AL.
Copyright © 2011 SciRes. IJG
317
[22] I. Parcharidis, E. Lekkas, and M. Foumelis, “Tsunami
Impact Depending on Coastal Morphology: The Case of
Phuchet Island and Khao Lac Coast (Thailand),” Interna-
tional Symposium on the Geodynamics of Eastern Medi-
terranean: Active Tectonics of the Aegean Region. Istan-
bul, 2005, 238.
[23] H. Yeh, R. K. Chadha, M. Francis, T. Katada, G. Latha,
C. Peterson, G. Raghuraman and J. P. Singh, “Tsunami
Runup Survey along the Southeast Indian Coast”, Earth-
quake Spectra, Vol. 22, No. S3, 2006, pp. S173-S186.
doi:10.1193/1.2202651
... Despite academic impetus, the 2011-Tohoku tsunami causing severe damage to the affected coastal region (Fujji et al. 2011) found the academic community wanting in an effort to characterize unique predicted behavior. The coastal morphology, the orientation of the coast, the width of the continental shelf, and distance from the source played a major role in the severity of the tsunami disaster (Lekkas et al. 2011). The seismically active Andaman Nicobar region experienced great recurrent earthquakes in 1797, 1833, and 1861, in addition to the Mw8.6-Nias (March 28, 2005) and Mw8.4-Bengkulu (September 12, 2007) earthquakes, which also produced tsunamis ). ...
Article
Full-text available
The detailed inundation mapping and vulnerability assessment is an essential component of risk reduction and rehabilitation planning in tsunami-prone regions. Integrated spatial analyses through Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy logic operation, mainly Fuzzy PRODUCT and Fuzzy GAMMA (0.9), are used to assess tsunami vulnerability and inundation mapping in the Andaman region, which experienced the 2004-Great Indian Ocean Tsunami. The thematic layers of elevation, slope, shoreline distance, and vegetation density are created using SRTM DEM and Landsat-8 OLI (~ 30 m spatial resolution). The tsunami wave heights are generated from TUNAMI-N2 Model using GEBCO bathymetry data. AHP evaluation process is applied to assign weights to the thematic layers, which are integrated using the weighted sum method. The input weight score of each thematic layer is transformed into a 0 to 1 scale using Fuzzy membership function to derive Fuzzy PRODUCT and Fuzzy GAMMA tsunami vulnerability classes, namely very low, low, medium, high, and very high, depending on correlation with tsunami run-up map. The weighted sum, Fuzzy PRODUCT, and Fuzzy GAMMA methods estimate ~ 1227 (26%), 225 (5%), and 844.33 (18%) km2 areas as very high vulnerability. The Fuzzy GAMMA method closely compares with the observed-modeled inundation of ~ 14% in the Andaman region. The vulnerability is correlated with the inundation pattern and LULC changes to understand the change in vulnerability from 2004 to 2021. The results are discussed for the robustness of the observation and technique that can be used for tsunami disaster management and land-use planning.
... The run-up of tsunamis on vertical cliffs is several times higher than that occurring on low coastal areas [43]. The run-up is also enhanced due to several factors [44]: (1) by the distance from the tsunami generation area (only 300 km, in our case), (2) the narrowness of the continental shelf (as in Ibiza and Formentera), (3) the fact that the tsunami propagation vector is almost perpendicular to the main shoreline direction, and (4) land morphology, characterized by vertical cliffs with entrances (calas). ...
Article
Full-text available
Large boulders have been found in marine cliffs from 7 study sites on Ibiza and Formentera Islands (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean). These large boulders of up to 43 t are located on platforms that form the rocky coastline of Ibiza and Formentera, several tens of meters from the edge of the cliff, up to 11 m above sea level and several kilometers away from any inland escarpment. Despite than storm wave height and energy are higher from the northern direction, the largest boulders are located in the southern part of the islands. The boulders are located in the places where numerical models of tsunami simulation from submarine earthquakes on the North African coast predict tsunami impact on these two islands. According to radiocarbon data and rate of growth of dissolution pans, the ages of the boulders range between 1750 AD and 1870 AD. Documentary sources also confirm a huge tsunami affecting the SE coast of Majorca (the largest Balearic Island) in 1756. The distribution of the boulders sites along the islands, the direction of imbrication and the run-up necessary for their placement suggest that they were transported from northern African tsunami waves that hit the coastline of Ibiza and Formentera Islands.
... Many recent disasters have contributed to scientific and public understanding of multi-process linkages. For example, the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami propagated and compounded the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors, causing broad economic impacts that included hundreds of billions of USD in direct losses and billions (USD) more in losses in supply chain disruptions and continuing agricultural losses (Lekkas et al., 2011;Kazama and Noda, 2012;IAEA, 2015). Complex process cause-and-effect webs are documented within mountain areas, such as the Attabad landslide and damming of the Hunza River in northern Pakistan (Kargel et al., 2010). ...
Article
Full-text available
Cascading hazard processes refer to a primary trigger such as heavy rainfall, seismic activity, or snow melt, followed by a chain or web of consequences that can cause subsequent hazards influenced by a complex array of preconditions and vulnerabilities. These interact in multiple ways and can have tremendous impacts on populations proximate to or downstream of these initial triggers. High Mountain Asia (HMA) is extremely vulnerable to cascading hazard processes given the tectonic, geomorphologic, and climatic setting of the region, particularly as it relates to glacial lakes. Given the limitations of in situ surveys in steep and often inaccessible terrain, remote sensing data are a valuable resource for better understanding and quantifying these processes. The present work provides a survey of cascading hazard processes impacting HMA and how these can be characterized using remote sensing sources. We discuss how remote sensing products can be used to address these process chains, citing several examples of cascading hazard scenarios across HMA. This work also provides a perspective on the current gaps and challenges, community needs, and view forward toward improved characterization of evolving hazards and risk across HMA.
... the Great East Japan Earthquake (Tohoku earthquake) that happened on March 11, 2011. It measured a magnitude 9.0 with powerful tsunami waves that reached heights of up to 40.5 m (Lekkas, Andreadakis, Kostaki, & Kapourani, 2011). In its aftermath, the Fukushima area had major infrastructure disruptions, with their nuclear atomic plants having critical crises and with electricity, gas, and water facilities stopping automatically. ...
Article
Full-text available
During natural disasters and crises, the Deaf and hard of hearing community might not have full accessibility to all of the information shared with the larger hearing community. This may be due to the lack of awareness among social work professionals about these cultural and linguistic needs of this minority population. The purpose of this article is to explore the challenges faced by the Deaf community and to discuss culturally and linguistically appropriate crisis intervention and mobilization to natural disaster situations based on the experiences of the Japanese Deaf communities affected by the Kobe and Tohoku earthquakes.
... If the V-shaped channel end had an inclined, initially dry valley or incision, the wave run-up would resemble tsunami dynamics. At Onawaga Bay in Japan, the 2011 Tohoku tsunami of 7.5 meters initial wave height ran for miles up a valley to reach a maximum height above sea level of circa 42 meters [6]. For Bridges 2013, our aim is to capture this wave motion with high-speed cameras in order to create a 3D perspex model of the bore-soliton-splash. ...
Article
Full-text available
We explore the visualization of violent wave dynamics and erosion by waves and jets in laser-cut reliefs, laser engravings, and three-dimensional printing. For this purpose we built table-top experiments to cast breaking waves, and also explored the creation of extreme or rogue waves in larger wave channels. Surprisingly, there are nano-scale analogues of these wave patterns in surface engineering with ion beams instead of water waves. Insights in applied mathematics and fluid dynamics, materials, fabrication and aesthetics informed our explorations. The resulting patterns give us not only new ways to communicate to specialist and general audiences about mathematics and fluid dynamics on different scales, they also provide new, abstract imagery which can be used in architectural and design applications.
Article
Full-text available
We explore extreme nonlinear water-wave amplification in a contraction or, analogously, wave amplification in crossing seas. The latter case can lead to extreme or rogue-wave formation at sea. First, amplification of a solitary-water-wave compound running into a contraction is disseminated experimentally in a wave tank. Maximum amplification in our bore–soliton–splash observed is circa tenfold. Subsequently, we summarise some nonlinear and numerical modelling approaches, validated for amplifying, contracting waves. These amplification phenomena observed have led us to develop a novel wave-energy device with wave amplification in a contraction used to enhance wave-activated buoy motion and magnetically induced energy generation. An experimental proof-of-principle shows that our wave-energy device works. Most importantly, we develop a novel wave-to-wire mathematical model of the combined wave hydrodynamics, wave-activated buoy motion and electric power generation by magnetic induction, from first principles, satisfying one grand variational principle in its conservative limit. Wave and buoy dynamics are coupled via a Lagrange multiplier, which boundary value at the waterline is in a subtle way solved explicitly by imposing incompressibility in a weak sense. Dissipative features, such as electrical wire resistance and nonlinear LED loads, are added a posteriori. New is also the intricate and compatible finite-element space–time discretisation of the linearised dynamics, guaranteeing numerical stability and the correct energy transfer between the three subsystems. Preliminary simulations of our simplified and linearised wave-energy model are encouraging and involve a first study of the resonant behaviour and parameter dependence of the device.
Article
Full-text available
Large boulders have been found on marine cliffs of 24 study areas on Minorca, in the Balearic archipelago. These large imbricated boulders of up to 229 t are located on platforms that comprise the rocky coastline of Minorca, several tens of meters from the edge of the cliff, up to 15 m above the sea level and kilometers away from any inland escarp-ment. They are mostly located on the southeastern coast of the island, and numerical models have identified this coastline as a zone with a high probability of tsunami impact. The age of the boulders of the studied localities range between 1574 AD and recent times, although most of them are concentrated around the year 1790 AD. Although some storm waves might play a role in their dislodging, the distribution of the boulder sites along the Balearic Islands, the degree and direction of imbrication and the run-up necessary for their placement suggest transport from northern African tsunami waves that hit the coastline of Minorca.
Chapter
The large destruction of industrial facilities, processing factories and urban areas by the 2011 tsunami along the northeast coast of Tohoku Region (Japan) resulted in extensive contamination in most of the flooded areas and coastal waters; an enormous amount of mixed debris and radiation compounded these problems, creating both potential environmental and human health hazards which should be assessed throughout the reconstruction and the restoration process. Open-air temporary debris storage sites lacking sufficient insulation have likely contaminated air, soil, marine and freshwater bodies with hazardous chemicals along certain areas in Tohoku. Moreover, construction wooden debris treated with biocides, weathering fixatives and fire retardants accumulated in the sites along the region have likely leached a host of toxic compounds including metals, arsenic and other hazardous substances posing a threat to soil and water sources, including groundwater. As part of the region’s reconstruction process, the potential short, medium and long-term environmental toxicity and damage to key ecosystems, flora and fauna as well as the contamination and impact on commercial resources, soil and water require careful assessment. This chapter provides a general overview of the potential contamination that may have occurred as a result of the tsunami of March 2011 along the Tohoku Region in Japan. Emphasis is made in the Miyagi prefecture looking at the contamination originated from the storage and management of wooden debris and other sources as well as some of its related environmental consequences.
Article
Full-text available
The bathymetry off-coast of East Vietnam varies from region to region. It causes a various tsunami height distribution which raises a possibility of focusing tsunami wave's prop-agation in ocean. No experiences were available regarding the propagation and the impact of tsunami along the coast of Vietnam, therefore, determining potential tsunamigenic sources is the deciding factor for tsunami hazard mitigation in Vietnam. In this research, the tsunami spreading characteristic in the South China Sea is studied by numerical simulations for tsunami scenarios with different locations of fault source along the Manila Trench in Western Luzon, Philippines. The results of this research show that the tsunami spreads over the South China Sea and sepa-rates into two ways with a direction towards Vietnam coastal area. The ocean waves focus and resonate with each other as they reach the gradual bathymetry slope area around 15 o N latitude. It is more obvious in scenarios of tsunami sources shifted southward along the trench according to maximum tsunami height maps, tsunami travel time maps and tsunami animations. From the results of this research it is possible to identify the most vulnerable area for the purposes of tsunami hazard mitigations and preparation along the coast of Vietnam.
Article
Full-text available
The 26 December Indian Ocean tsunami was an extraordinary event in the history of natural hazards. It severely affected many countries surrounding the Indian Ocean: Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and African countries. Unlike the previous tsunami events in the last 40 years, the seriously affected areas are so vast that a traditional ground-level tsunami survey covering all the necessary areas by a single survey team was impractical. This destructive event will undoubtedly provide many opportunities to explore both basic and applied research in tsunami science and engineering fields and will lead to better preparedness for future disasters. A tsunami runup survey was conducted that spans Vedaranniyam (10 degrees 23.5(') N) to Vodarevu (15 degrees 47.6(') N)-more than 600 km of the southeast Indian coast-which suffered from the distant tsunami, whose source was more than 1,500 km away.
Article
Full-text available
This paper presents the results from an extensive field data collection effort following the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Banda Aceh, Sumatra. The data were collected under the auspices of TSUNARISQUE, a joint French-Indonesian program dedicated to tsunami research and hazard mitigation, which has been active since before the 2004 event. In total, data from three months of field investigations are presented, which detail important aspects of the tsunami inundation dynamics in Banda Aceh. These include measurements of runup, tsunami wave heights, flow depths, flow directions, event chronology and building damage patterns. The result is a series of detailed inundation maps of the northern and western coasts of Sumatra including Banda Aceh and Lhok Nga. Among the more important findings, we obtained consistent accounts that approximately ten separate waves affected the region after the earthquake; this indicates a high-frequency component of the tsunami wave energy in the extreme near-field. The largest tsunami wave heights were on the order of 35 m with a maximum runup height of 51 m. This value is the highest runup value measured in human history for a seismically generated tsunami. In addition, our field investigations show a significant discontinuity in the tsunami wave heights and flow depths along a line approximately 3 km inland, which the authors interpret to be the location of the collapse of the main tsunami bore caused by sudden energy dissipation. The propagating bore looked like a breaking wave from the landward side although it has distinct characteristics. Patterns of building damage are related to the location of the propagating bore with overall less damage to buildings beyond the line where the bore collapsed. This data set was built to be of use to the tsunami community for the purposes of calibrating and improving existing tsunami inundation models, especially in the analysis of extreme near-field events.
Article
Full-text available
1] In contrast to far-field tsunami amplitudes that are fairly well predicted by the seismic moment of subduction zone earthquakes, there exists significant variation in the scaling of local tsunami amplitude with respect to seismic moment. From a global catalog of tsunami runup observations this variability is greatest for the most frequently occurring tsunamigenic subduction zone earthquakes in the magnitude range of 7 < M w < 8.5. Variability in local tsunami runup scaling can be ascribed to tsunami source parameters that are independent of seismic moment: variations in the water depth in the source region, the combination of higher slip and lower shear modulus at shallow depth, and rupture complexity in the form of heterogeneous slip distribution patterns. The focus of this study is on the effect that rupture complexity has on the local tsunami wave field. A wide range of slip distribution patterns are generated using a stochastic, self-affine source model that is consistent with the falloff of far-field seismic displacement spectra at high frequencies. The synthetic slip distributions generated by the stochastic source model are discretized and the vertical displacement fields from point source elastic dislocation expressions are superimposed to compute the coseismic vertical displacement field. For shallow subduction zone earthquakes it is demonstrated that self-affine irregularities of the slip distribution result in significant variations in local tsunami amplitude. The effects of rupture complexity are less pronounced for earthquakes at greater depth or along faults with steep dip angles. For a test region along the Pacific coast of central Mexico, peak nearshore tsunami amplitude is calculated for a large number (N = 100) of synthetic slip distribution patterns, all with identical seismic moment (M w = 8.1). Analysis of the results indicates that for earthquakes of a fixed location, geometry, and seismic moment, peak nearshore tsunami amplitude can vary by a factor of 3 or more. These results indicate that there is substantially more variation in the local tsunami wave field derived from the inherent complexity subduction zone earthquakes than predicted by a simple elastic dislocation model. Probabilistic methods that take into account variability in earthquake rupture processes are likely to yield more accurate assessments of tsunami hazards.
Chapter
When a seismic event in a coastal region initiates an energetic Tsunami on the sloping shelf of that region, some of the energy propagates seaward, some of it is manifested in the run-up on the coastal segment alongside the source region and then reflected seaward and some of it, in the form of trapped “edge-waves”, propagates along the shelf with a dispersive attenuation. We quantify here the broadside run-up and the encroachment that accompanies the along-shore propagation.
Article
Based on the linear long wave theory, a theoretical solution was obtained for the tsunami, which propagated from a tsunami source generated on the shelf with a straight coastline and a uniform slope. The solution shows that the behavior of a tsunami generated on the shelf is affected by the conditions of the tsunami source. The tsunami propagation is classified into three types by examining the generated edge waves. The limit of conditions providing each propagation type is determined mainly by the source distance to the coastline. The empirical relations are derived which evaluate the characteristics of induced tsunami by using the tsunami source parameters such as the lengths of the long-axis and short-axis, the location and the direction of the tsunami source and so on. The effect of the Coriolis force is also discussed.
Article
Strong ground motions from the 2011 off the Paci[|#2#|]c coast of Tohoku Earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in and around Japan after the installation of modern seismic network were recorded for more than 300 seconds by a dense and wide-span seismic network, the Metropolitan Seismic Observation Network (MeSO-net) installed around the Tokyo metropolitan area, about 200 km away from the epicenter. We investigate the rupture process of the earthquake in space and time by performing semblance enhanced stacking analysis of the waveforms in a frequency range of 0.05 to 0.5 Hz. By projecting the power of the stacked waveforms to an assumed fault plane, the rupture propagation image of the large and complex earthquake is successfully obtained. The seismic energy was mainly generated from the off shore areas of about 100 km away from the coast in Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures. The shallow and eastern part of the fault along the Japan trench off Miyagi Prefecture released strong seismic energy which might have been related to the excitation of gigantic tsunami. In contrast, the southern shallow part of the fault plane, off Ibaraki Prefecture, released only minor seismic energy. Our analysis suggests that the focal areas combining both the of[|#2#|]cially forecasted Miyagi-oki earthquake and those of historical earthquakes that occurred off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture in 1938 were broken, resulting in the 2011 large M9 earthquake.
Chapter
In this introduction we briefly summarize the fourteen contributions to Part II of this special issue on Tsunami Science Four Years After the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. These papers are representative of the new tsunami science being conducted since the occurrence of that tragic event. Most of these were presented at the session: Tsunami Generation and Hazard, of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics XXIV General Assembly held at Perugia, Italy, in July of 2007. That session included over one hundred presentations on a wide range of topics in tsunami research. The papers grouped into Part II, and introduced here, cover field observations of recent tsunami’s, modern studies of historical events, coastal sea-level observations and case studies in tsunami data analysis.