Tsunami Propagation and Inundation Due to Tsunamigenic Earthquakes in the Sumatra-Andaman Subduction Zone: Impact at Visakhapatnam

The Sumatra-Andaman arc is an active subduction zone that has generated several destructive tsunamis. The December 26, 2004, Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of magnitude Mw∼9.3 generated the most destructive tsunami known to man. The sustained high water level in several regions on the east coast of India due to tsunamis in the Bay of Bengal can be attributed to the reflection of direct tsunami waves and trapping of wave energy. In this paper we have simulated two scenarios of tsunamigenic earthquakes, the 2004 Sumatra earthquake and a possible great earthquake in the Andaman region. Tsunami wave propagation and inundation at Visakhapatnam due to these two earthquakes have been modeled. We find that the tsunami run-up heights for the 2004 Sumatra earthquake were about 1.5 m. For the other possible scenario, we observed that the run-up is about 3–4.6 m. The inundated distances have been estimated and are 1–2 km.

[1]  Chen Ji,et al.  Coseismic Slip and Afterslip of the Great Mw 9.15 Sumatra–Andaman Earthquake of 2004 , 2007 .

[2]  G. Whitham.  Linear and non linear waves , 1974 .

[3]  Arvind Jaiswal,et al.  Effects of the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami on the Indian Mainland , 2006 .

[4]  T. Murty,et al.  A tentative list of tsunamis in the marginal seas of the North Indian Ocean , 1991 .

[5]  Stephan T. Grilli,et al.  tsunami: Case study of impact in Thailand , 2007 .

[6]  H. Gupta,et al.  Slow slip below Port Blair, Andaman, during the great Sumatra‐Andaman earthquake of 26 December 2004 , 2006 .

[7]  Emile A. Okal,et al.  Seismology: Speed and size of the Sumatra earthquake , 2005, Nature.

[8]  Y. Okada.  Internal deformation due to shear and tensile faults in a half-space , 1992, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[9]  A. K. Lal,et al.  The Great Tsunami of 26 December 2004: A description based on tide-gauge data from the Indian subcontinent and surrounding areas , 2006 .

[10]  Stephan T. Grilli,et al.  Modeling the 26 December 2004 Indian ocean tsunami : Case study of impact in Thailand - art. no. C07024 , 2007 .

[11]  H. Yeh,et al.  The tsunami of the great Sumatra earthquake of M 9.0 on 26 December 2004 : Impact on the east coast of India , 2005 .

[12]  V. Titov,et al.  Sumatra tsunami: lessons from modeling , 2006 .

[13]  R. Bilham,et al.  Partial and Complete Rupture of the Indo-Andaman Plate Boundary 1847-2004 , 2005 .

[14]  V. Dimri,et al.  Modeling Techniques for Understanding the Indian Ocean Tsunami Propagation , 2006 .

[15]  D. Burbidge,et al.  Historic records of teletsunami in the Indian Ocean and insights from numerical modelling , 2007 .