Integrated tsunami vulnerability and risk assessment: application to the coastal area of El Salvador

Abstract

Abstract. Advances in the understanding and prediction of tsunami impacts allow the development of risk reduction strategies for tsunami-prone areas. This paper presents a methodological framework for the integrated tsunami vulnerability and risk assessment. It deals with the complexity and variability of coastal zones by means of (i) an integral approach to cover the entire risk related process, from the hazard, vulnerability and risk assessments to the final risk management; (ii) an integrated approach to combine and aggregate the information stemming from the different dimensions; and (iii) a dynamic and scale dependant approach to integrate the spatiotemporal variability considerations. This framework aims at establishing a clear connection to translate the vulnerability and risk assessment results into adequate target-oriented risk reduction measures, bridging the gap between science and management for the tsunami hazard. The framework is applicable to other types of hazards, having been successfully applied to climate change hazard.

Tsunami evacuation modelling as a tool for risk management: application to the coastal area of El Salvador

“…A specific methodology for the hazard assessment is not detailed in this section, as this paper focuses on evacuation planning. For further methodological information see Álvarez-Gómez et al (2013).…”

“…5) has been carried out, considering local seismic sources located in the Middle America Trench, characterized seismotectonically, and distant sources in the rest of Pacific Basin, using historical and recent earthquakes and tsunamis. The earthquakes magnitude ranges between Mw 7.7 for some local sources and Mw 9.5 for distant sources (Álvarez-Gómez et al, 2013). According to the methodology proposed by the SCHEMA project (Tinti et al, 2011), when applying the worst-case credible scenario approach to the tsunami hazard assessment the process of aggregation of the results obtained for the single tsunami sources consists in selecting for each position of the map the extreme value (the highest or the lowest) computed for the individual cases.…”

“…Tsunamis are relatively infrequent phenomena, but they nonetheless represent an important threat and cause the loss of thousands of human lives and extensive damage to coastal infrastructure around the world (González et al, 2012). Advances in the understanding and prediction of tsunami impacts allow the development of risk reduction strategies for tsunami-prone areas.…”

“…Scheer et al (2011b) propose optimizing tsunami evacuation plans through the use of building damage scenarios to identify potential vertical shelters. Garside et al (2009) state that all at-risk facilities should have appropriate emergency response planning which would include (i) warning notification protocols and systems; (ii) evaluation and mapping of evacuation routes, with signage to designated assembly points; (iii) consideration of evacuation timing; and (iv) staff training and evacuation plan exercising. Besides the existing scientific works, many of the official evacuation plans reviewed (Tokyo's earthquake survival manual 1 , Oregon's tsunami evacuation brochures 2 , Chile's tsunami inundation map 3 , etc.)…”

Tsunami evacuation modelling as a tool for risk reduction: application to the coastal area of El Salvador

“…Scheer et al (2011b) propose optimizing tsunami evacuation plans through the use of building damage scenarios to identify potential vertical shelters. Garside et al (2009) state that all at-risk facilities should have appropriate emergency response planning which would include (i) warning notification protocols and systems; (ii) evaluation and mapping of evacuation routes, with signage to designated assembly points; (iii) consideration of evacuation timing; and (iv) staff training and evacuation plan exercising. Besides the existing scientific works, many of the official evacuation plans reviewed (Tokyo's earthquake survival manual 1 , Oregon's tsunami evacuation brochures 2 , Chile's tsunami inundation map 3 , etc.)…”