Tooling Up to Design and Implement

Tsunami Risk Reduction Strategies

Enda Murphy

Marine Infrastructure Research Engineer

Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering Research Centre

17 April 2018

Tsunami – Fight or Flight?

2 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

Avoid

3 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

• Restrict development in

high risk areas

• Community protection

schemes

• Early warning systems

• Evacuation plans

• Safe routes to high

ground

But is avoidance the only solution?

4 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

James et al. (2014)

• 38% of Canadians live within 20km of

the coast (Manson, 2005)

• Many remote coastal communities

Foster et al. (2014)

Resist

5 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

• Places of refuge (e.g.

vertical evacuation

structures)

• Structural strengthening

• Piled structures,

elevated living areas

• Scour protection

• Debris control

• Structural elements

(openings, breakaway

panels, mitigation walls,

tie-downs, redundancy)

• Dryproofing

• Maybe even floatation?

Build Resilience

6 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

• Speedy return to service

• Construction techniques

• Materials

• Finishes

• Limit damage

• Preserve functionality of critical infrastructure

• Facilitate (or at least don’t impede!)

emergency response

Image source: Nyland and Nodelman (2017)

Repairability

7 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

• Materials

• Water retention

• Salt resistance

• Drying times

• Preserve structural integrity

• Bio-hazards

• Minimize needs for demolition

during rebuilding

• Build back better

In summary – broaden our portfolio of responses

8 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

Avoidance

Resistance

Resilience

Repairability

Strategies Implementation instruments

Residual

risk

Adapted from Bowker et

al. (2007)

Understanding the Hazard

9 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

“Know your enemy…”

Zacharias Manuel de la Rocha (1991)

Tsunami Generation and Oceanic Propagation

10 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

(aka the Far Field)

Propagation and Transformation in Coastal Waters

11 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

(aka the Near Field)

Hazard Pathways, Wave Run-Up

12 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

Loads and Effects

13 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

Integrated Modelling Systems

14 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

A word about uncertainty and inaction

15 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

To do nothing is often the best course of action…

…but history was not made by those who did nothing.

One way to reduce uncertainty – more data

16 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

More data needs

• Tsunami interactions with buildings and infrastructure

• Building and infrastructure vulnerability

• Test effectiveness of Resistance/Resilence/Repairability measures

17 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami

Need for practical, useful tools

• Enhanced national hazard assessment – learn from

mapping for ASCE 7-16

• Guidelines, codes and standards

• Improved communication tools (probably web-

based)

18 Understanding Risk BC – Tsunami