Tsunami inundation in Napier, New Zealand, due to local earthquake sources

Stuart Fraser (), William Power, Xiaoming Wang, Laura Wallace, Christof Mueller and David Johnston

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2014, vol. 70, issue 1, 415-445

Abstract: Deterministic analysis of local tsunami generated by subduction zone earthquakes demonstrates the potential for extensive inundation and building damage in Napier, New Zealand. We present the first high-resolution assessments of tsunami inundation in Napier based on full simulation from tsunami generation to inundation and demonstrate the potential variability of onshore impacts due to local earthquakes. In the most extreme scenario, rupture of the whole Hikurangi subduction margin, maximum onshore flow depth exceeds 8.0 m within 200 m of the shore and exceeds 5.0 m in the city centre, with high potential for major damage to buildings. Inundation due to single-segment or splay fault rupture is relatively limited despite the magnitudes of M W 7.8 and greater. There is approximately 30 min available for evacuation of the inundation zone following a local rupture, and inundation could reach a maximum extent of 4 km. The central city is inundated by up to three waves, and Napier Port could be inundated repeatedly for 12 h. These new data on potential flow depth, arrival time and flow kinematics provide valuable information for tsunami education, exposure analysis and evacuation planning. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Keywords: Local tsunami; Inundation modelling; COMCOT; Hikurangi subduction margin; Structural damage; Arrival time; Evacuation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1007/s11069-013-0820-x

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