TSUNAMI

Published on 23 Feb 2025

A tsunami is a series of powerful oceanic waves typically caused by underwater disturbances, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or landslides and has the potential to devastate coastal areas with its immense destructive force.

Vulnerability of India

• Location: India is located at the boundary of the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate, which is a tectonically active region. 

• Subduction Zones: The northern and eastern margins of the Indian Ocean have subduction zones where one tectonic plate is forced beneath another. Subduction zone earthquakes have the potential to generate significant tsunamis.

• Example: Tsunami of 2004 occurred when Indian plate forced beneath the Burma plate at subduction zone.

• Coastal Population: High population density in the coastal region increases the potential impact of a tsunami in terms of loss of life and property damage.

• Example: Highly populated metros like Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi, Vishakhapatnam, etc. are coastal cities

Effects

• Socio-economic effects

• Loss of Life and Injuries: The sudden and powerful nature of tsunamis can make evacuation and rescue efforts challenging. Hence, causalities to tsunamis are very high.

• Example: Over 2 lakh people died in Indian ocean tsunami of 2004. (World Bank blog)

• Displacement: Tsunamis can destroy homes, infrastructure, and communities along the coastlines, leaving many people displaced and homeless. 

• Loss of livelihood: Coastal areas often rely on tourism, fisheries, and agriculture. Tsunamis can disrupt these industries, leading to economic downturns and loss of livelihoods for local communities.

• Healthcare and Sanitation Issues: In the aftermath of a tsunami, access to healthcare and sanitation facilities can be compromised, leading to the spread of diseases and health problems.

• Damage to coastal infrastructure: The powerful waves can cause extensive damage to buildings, roads, bridges, and other structures.

• Example: Fukushima nuclear disaster following a 2011 tsunami in Japan.

• Environmental effects

• Coastal Erosion: Tsunamis can erode coastlines and cause land loss, altering the geography of affected areas and changing ecosystems.

• Habitat Destruction: Tsunamis can devastate marine and coastal habitats such as coral reefs, mangroves, and coastal wetlands.

• Water Pollution: The force of a tsunami can introduce pollutants and debris into coastal waters, contaminating marine environments and affecting marine life.

• Soil and Agricultural Damage: Inundation of farmland with saltwater can render soil unsuitable for agriculture, affecting food production and local food security.

Challenges in mitigation

• Complex nature: Tsunamis can travel at high speeds across vast ocean distances, making prediction and information dissemination extremely difficult.

• Vulnerable Infrastructure: Coastal infrastructure, such as buildings, ports, and power plants, are often not designed to withstand the impact of tsunamis.

• Evacuation: Coordinating evacuations in densely populated coastal regions can be difficult, especially during unexpected tsunamis.

• Funding and Resources: Establishing and maintaining early warning systems, conducting research, and implementing mitigation measures require substantial financial resources.

• Regional Cooperation: Tsunamis are transboundary events, affecting multiple countries simultaneously. Effective mitigation requires international cooperation and information-sharing between neighboring countries, which may face political or logistical challenges.

India’s current preparedness

• NDMA guidelines

• Early warning system: The critical gaps in the availability of monitoring instruments like Bottom Pressure Sensors (BPRs), tide gauges, surface buoys, etc. to cover the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean to be carried out urgently.

• Effective dissemination of tsunami alert: Tsunami Alert received at the National, state and district emergency operations center need to be disseminated through the fastest means to the people in the coastal areas likely to be affected.

• Evacuation plans and drills: It includes guidelines for developing evacuation plans, identifying safe zones, and conducting regular tsunami evacuation drills to prepare communities for a swift and orderly evacuation during a real event.

• Structural measures: The Bureau of Indian standards should roll out the construction standards entitled ‘Criteria for Tsunami-Resistant Design of Structures’.

• Development of the robust techno-legal regime: It can be done through efficient land-use practices, bio shields, shelterbelt plantation, and mangrove regeneration with community involvement.

• Public Awareness: Comprehensive public awareness campaigns to be developed and launched at the national, state and district levels, especially in high-risk areas.

• Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC): It was established under the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS). ITEWC can detect large undersea earthquakes in Indian Ocean in real-time and provide a tsunami warning in 10-20 minutes after the earthquake occurs.

• IOWave Tsunami mock exercises: It is conducted biannually by INCOIS in coordination with Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to strengthen the readiness to handle emergency situations with stakeholders.

• Tsunami Sirens and Communication Systems: In high-risk coastal areas, India has installed tsunami sirens to alert the local population in case of a tsunami warning.

Solutions / Best Practices

• Japan’s early warning systems: Japan has a sophisticated early warning system that uses seismic and oceanographic data to issue warnings within seconds after an earthquake occurs. The system triggers alarms on TV, radio, and mobile devices, providing valuable seconds to minutes for evacuation.

• Vertical Evacuation Buildings: In some areas of Japan, vertical evacuation buildings have been constructed. These multi-story structures can withstand the force of tsunamis, and people can seek refuge on higher floors.

• Coastal Green Belt: Padang, a coastal city in Indonesia created a coastal green belt by preserving and restoring mangroves and coastal vegetation. These natural barriers help absorb wave energy and reduce the impact of tsunamis.

• Seawalls and Barriers: Coastal seawalls and tsunami barriers in vulnerable areas to block and absorb the impact of tsunami waves.

• Tsunami-Resilient Building Codes: This includes elevating buildings and critical infrastructure above potential wave heights.

• ‘Tsunami Ready’ recognition: Two villages of Odisha- Venkatraipur and Noliasahi got ‘Tsunami Ready’ recognition by UNESCO-IOC.

Way Forward

• Strengthen Early Warning Systems: Continue to invest in advanced early warning systems that use a combination of seismic and oceanographic data for rapid and accurate detection of potential tsunamis

• Resilient Infrastructure: Encourage the construction of tsunami-resistant buildings and critical facilities, in high-risk coastal areas. Retrofit existing infrastructure to withstand the impact of tsunamis.

• Tsunami-Resilient Ecosystems: Promote the conservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves, coral reefs, and wetlands, which act as natural barriers and can reduce the impact of tsunamis.

• Research and Technology Advancements: Continue to invest in research and technology to improve tsunami modeling, monitoring, and forecasting capabilities

• Community Involvement: Involve local communities in the development and implementation of tsunami mitigation plans. Consider traditional knowledge and community practices that may contribute to effective responses.

Tags:
Disaster Management

Keywords:
TSUNAMI disaster disaster management tsunami Vulnerability of India Effects of tsunami Challenges in mitigation of tsunami India’s current preparedness Solutions / Best Practices

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 3

Topics:
Disaster and Disaster Management