Author(s): Ioan Nistor

Linked Author(s): Ioan Nistor

Keywords: Tsunami; Field Survey; Coastal Flooding; Tsunami Impacts

Abstract: This paper presents results from extensive tsunami forensic field surveys conducted by the author immediately after three major tsunami events: 2004 Indian Ocean (Indonesia and Thailand), 2010 Chile and 2011 Tohoku Japan. Extreme damage was observed for coastal and inland engineered structures located in coastal communities, many of which were completely destroyed. These reconnaissance field investigations were carried out three to four weeks after the tsunamis hit the above mentioned affected areas. While often tsunami surveys focus on determining the spatial extent of the coastal flooding, these three surveys focused particularly on investigating the behavior of structures affected by extreme loading due to inland flooding. Hence, the paper presents a review and analysis of the damage induced by the tsunami impact on a variety of structures with various functions (industrial, habitation, community use) and various characteristics (geometry, type of construction material, etc). Additionally, this paper also presents a brief comparison between the types of tsunami damage observed during these past surveys. The author is a member of the ASCE7 Subcommittee for Tsunami Loading and Effects on Structures which is developing a new Chapter 6 - Tsunami Loads and Effects, with Commentary for the 2016 edition of the ASCE 7 Standard.

DOI:

Year: 2013