On mitigating rapid onset natural disasters: Project THRUST (Tsunami Hazards Reduction Utilizing Systems Technology)

Abstract

Rapid onset natural hazards have claimed more than 2.8 million lives worldwide in the past 20 years. This category includes such events as earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tornados, floods, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and tsunamis. Effective hazard mitigation is particularly difficult in such cases, since the time available to issue warnings can be very short or even nonexistent. This paper presents the concept of a local warning system that exploits and integrates the existing technologies of risk evaluation, environmental measurement, and telecommunications. We describe Project THRUST, a successful implementation of this general, systematic approach to tsunamis. The general approach includes pre‐event emergency planning, real‐time hazard assessment, and rapid warning via satellite communication links.

The NTHMP Tsunameter Network

“…Deep-ocean surface buoy technology at PMEL was also well developed, as witness the success of the Tropical Atmosphere and Ocean (TAO) array, the largest deep-ocean array in existence (Hayes et al, 1991;McPhaden, 1993;McPhaden, 1995;McPhaden et al, 1998); a significant challenge had to be overcome in adapting this technology to the needs of a tsunameter network -i.e., development of a buoy and mooring system that would survive the hostile environment of high latitude conditions. Satellite telecommunications had for years been routinely used by PMEL for near real-time data delivery to ground stations from the TAO array, and this technology was also used successfully to deliver real-time seismic data as part of a prototype local tsunami warning system that is still operational in Valparaiso, Chile (Bernard et al, 1988;Bernard, 1991). The remaining component -an acoustic link to provide robust, reliable transmission of BPR data from the seafloor to the surface -represented new, ground-breaking technology, on which much of the development effort focused.…”

Quantitative risk assessment in El-Jadida (Northern Atlantic Coast of Morocco) for a tsunami scenario equivalent to that of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake

“…Tsunami is one of the deadliest natural hazards, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives all around the world (e.g., Bernard et al 1988;Doocy et al 2007). In addition, tsunami events also constitute a great risk to coastal regions increasingly impacted by different human activities.…”

Recent Developments in Tsunami Hazard Mitigation

“…In summary, tsunami warning systems are effective in detecting tsunamis, but their lack of accuracy leads to false alarms. One promising system was installed in Chile using single station seismometers and satellite communication (Bernard et al, 1988). Affordable and reliable local warning systems are the challenge of the new millennium.…”