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?
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Avoid
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• 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?
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James et al. (2014)
• 38% of Canadians live within 20km of
the coast (Manson, 2005)
• Many remote coastal communities
Foster et al. (2014)
Resist
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• 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
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• 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
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• 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
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Avoidance
Resistance
Resilience
Repairability
Strategies Implementation instruments
Residual
risk
Adapted from Bowker et
al. (2007)
Understanding the Hazard
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“Know your enemy…”
Zacharias Manuel de la Rocha (1991)
Tsunami Generation and Oceanic Propagation
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(aka the Far Field)
Propagation and Transformation in Coastal Waters
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(aka the Near Field)
Hazard Pathways, Wave Run-Up
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Loads and Effects
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Integrated Modelling Systems
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A word about uncertainty and inaction
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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
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More data needs
• Tsunami interactions with buildings and infrastructure
• Building and infrastructure vulnerability
• Test effectiveness of Resistance/Resilence/Repairability measures
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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)
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