Abstract. Oman is located in an area of high seismicity, facing the Makran Subduction
Zone, which is the major source of earthquakes in the eastern border of the
Arabian plate. These earthquakes, as evidenced by several past events, may
trigger a tsunami event. The aim of this work is to minimize the consequences
that tsunami events may cause in coastal communities by integrating tsunami
risk assessment and risk reduction measures as part of the risk-management
preparedness strategy. An integrated risk assessment approach and the
analysis of site-specific conditions permitted to propose target-oriented
risk reduction measures. The process included a participatory approach,
involving a panel of local stakeholders and international experts. One of the
main concerns of this work was to obtain a useful outcome for the actual
improvement of tsunami risk management in Oman. This goal was achieved
through the development of comprehensive and functional management tools such
as the Tsunami Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk Atlas and the Risk Reduction
Measures Handbook, which will help to design and plan a roadmap towards risk
reduction. The integrated tsunami risk assessment performed showed that the northern
area of Oman would be the most affected, considering both the hazard and
vulnerability components. This area also concentrates nearly 50 % of the
hot spots identified throughout the country, 70 % of them are located in
areas with a very high risk class, in which risk reduction measures were
selected and prioritized.
Abstract. Advances in the understanding of tsunami impacts allow developing products to assess its consequences in tsunami-prone areas, as it is the case of the coast of the Sultanate of Oman. This paper presents the followed methodology and the obtained results for the assessment of the tsunami hazard of the coast of Oman and the development of the scenario database that feeds its Tsunami Warning System (TWS). Initially, a seismo-tectonic analysis of the area was carried out, focused on identifying the seismic areas whose earthquakes could generate tsunamis affecting the coast of Oman. A database of 3181 tsunamigenic sources was characterized by means of the parameters that define their focal mechanisms. This database includes scenarios with magnitudes Mw ranging from 6.5 to 9.25 within the study area, but it is especially focused on the Makran Subduction Zone (MSZ). The 3181 cases were numerically propagated to feed the database and to work as precomputed scenarios for the TWS: In case of tsunami, the results for the closest precomputed scenario (in location and magnitude) are shown. From the database, 7 worst-case scenarios were selected and computationally simulated at national and local scale, in 9 municipalities all along the coast of Oman, resulting in tsunami hazard maps containing relevant variables in the flooded area, such as the inundation water depth and the drag level (hazard degree for people instability). Finally, in order to manage conveniently the results, an online tool, called Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment System (MHRAS), was developed. This tool is a viewer that contains an easy-to-use application, including the results of the tsunami hazard assessment and the tsunami scenario database, and the selection algorithm to choose the proper case among the precomputed ones. The results of this research are part of the National Multi-Hazard Early Warning System of Oman (NMHEWS).
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