A Field Survey of the 1946 Aleutian Tsunami in the Far Field

Okal, Emile A.; Synolakis, Costas E.; Fryer, Gerard J.; Heinrich, Philippe; Borrero, José C.; Ruscher, Christophe; Arcas, D.; Guille, G.; Rousseau, Daniel

doi:10.1785/gssrl.73.4.490

Cited by 72 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Any modeller performing a safety study, not to mention a competent reviewer, needs to make a reality check through comparisons with earlier events worldwide, at least in terms of worst case outcomes. The 1946 M ∼ 7.4 Aleutian earthquake produced locally 42 m run-up [69], and destroyed the Scotch Cap lighthouse. Although this extreme value has been hypothesized as because of a co-seismic offshore landslide, its mere occurrence in a well-documented twentiethcentury event does underscore the possibility of special effects, locally, even during an M ∼ 7.5 event.…”

Section: A Last Chance To Avoid the Accident Was Lostmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fukushima accident was preventable

Synolakis

Kânoğlu

2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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The 11 March 2011 tsunami was probably the fourth largest in the past 100 years and killed over 15 000 people. The magnitude of the design tsunami triggering earthquake affecting this region of Japan had been grossly underestimated, and the tsunami hit the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (NPP), causing the third most severe accident in an NPP ever. Interestingly, while the Onagawa NPP was also hit by a tsunami of approximately the same height as Dai-ichi, it survived the event ‘remarkably undamaged’. We explain what has been referred to as the cascade of engineering and regulatory failures that led to the Fukushima disaster. One, insufficient attention had been given to evidence of large tsunamis inundating the region earlier, to Japanese research suggestive that large earthquakes could occur anywhere along a subduction zone, and to new research on mega-thrusts since Boxing Day 2004. Two, there were unexplainably different design conditions for NPPs at close distances from each other. Three, the hazard analysis to calculate the maximum probable tsunami at Dai-ichi appeared to have had methodological mistakes, which almost nobody experienced in tsunami engineering would have made. Four, there were substantial inadequacies in the Japan nuclear regulatory structure. The Fukushima accident was preventable, if international best practices and standards had been followed, if there had been international reviews, and had common sense prevailed in the interpretation of pre-existing geological and hydrodynamic findings. Formal standards are needed for evaluating the tsunami vulnerability of NPPs, for specific training of engineers and scientists who perform tsunami computations for emergency preparedness or critical facilities, as well as for regulators who review safety studies.

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Section: A Last Chance To Avoid the Accident Was Lostmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fukushima accident was preventable

Synolakis

Kânoğlu

2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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“…Indeed, this special coastal topography could help explain the apparent paradox between the almost absence of effects reported, and the elevated run-up heights measured during the recent field survey: a tsunami wave, such as the 1946's, lost a large amount of its energy going across the bank, solely generating inundation over short distances (about a few tenth of meters) as reported by Okal et al (2002). Yet, in this ana lysis, we did not mention the possible effect of the modified coastal environment (the road running along the bank did not exist at the time of the tsunami), nor the effect of tides whose amplitude is estimated at 1.2 m at the time of the 1946 event.…”

Section: Austral Archipelagomentioning

confidence: 81%

“…The oldest tsunami documented in the area dates back to 1806 (Candelot, 1996;Okal et al, 2002): an English voyager visiting Marquesas describes the wave phenomenon with great details, pointing out that similar events had been observed several times in the past. For the purpose of this study, only tsunamis with a clear identification of the source were considered, thus making the 1837 event the oldest one in the catalogue (Schindelé et al, 2006).…”

Section: Historical Records In French Polynesiamentioning

confidence: 97%

“…For the 1946 event, the field survey of Okal et al (2002) revealed important run-up values in Raivavae, Tubuai, and even more important in Rurutu where run-ups of 3 m have been reported. It is interesting to note that the head of the meteorological department at that time did not mention any damage in his report of 1 May 1946 (Polynesian Territory archives), with the exception of a dock displaced in Rurutu.…”

Section: Austral Archipelagomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of far-field tsunami hazard in French Polynesia based on historical data and numerical simulations

Sladen

Hébert

Schindelé

et al. 2007

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. The first tsunami hazard map of French Polynesia is presented here on the basis of historical data, and numerical simulations. French Polynesia, because of its central position in the most tsunami prone ocean, the Pacific, is strongly exposed to far-field tsunamis. As no previous study on the area had been conducted, we compiled catalogues of all the historical observations (14 events), and tide gauges records (69 marigrams). The catalogues emphasise the higher hazard associated to the Marquesas archipelago, but also the deficiency of robust data in most other parts of French Polynesia. The recourse to numerical simulations allowed us to complement the existing records, and to test tsunami scenarii over different bathymetry and topography configurations, representative of the diversity of islands in French Polynesia. The tsunami hazard map assigns a high exposure level to the Marquesas and the island of Rurutu. Other islands of the Austral, and the Gambier archipelago have a elevated level of exposure, as well as three islands of Society: Tahiti, Moorea, and Huahine. All other islands of French Polynesia are considered as moderately exposed.

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“…The 1946 Aleutian and 1960 Chilean tsunamis wrought considerable destruction on all islands, the former killing two people on Hiva Oa [Okal et al, 2000]. Also, resonance in the ports of Atuona (Hiva Oa) and Hakahau (Ua Pou) damaged several boats during the 1995 Chilean and 1996 Peruvian tsunamis [Guibourg et al, 1997;Heinrich et al, 1998].…”

Section: Final Perspective and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The landslide and local tsunami of 13 September 1999 on Fatu Hiva (Marquesas Islands; French Polynesia)

Okal

Fryer

Borrero

et al. 2002

Bulletin De La Société Géologique De France

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Abstract. -On 13 September 1999, a local tsunami, comprising two waves separated by a few minutes, hit the village of Omoa, on the island of Fatu Hiva, French Polynesia. It inflicted serious damages to structures built close to the seashore, in particular to the local elementary school. The tsunami was generated by the collapse of a basaltic cliff, located 3 km to the southeast of Omoa, along the coastline. The volume of the landslide is estimated to range from 2 to 5 million m 3 , of which 60 % fell into the sea. A preliminary simulation of the tsunami provides an acceptable explanation of wave amplitudes, as well as an estimate of the origin time of landslide.

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A Field Survey of the 1946 Aleutian Tsunami in the Far Field

Cited by 72 publications

References 39 publications

The Fukushima accident was preventable

The Fukushima accident was preventable

Evaluation of far-field tsunami hazard in French Polynesia based on historical data and numerical simulations

The landslide and local tsunami of 13 September 1999 on Fatu Hiva (Marquesas Islands; French Polynesia)

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