Dr. Aranguiz-Muñoz, Rafael

On September 28, 2018, a large earthquake and its accompanying tsunami waves caused severe damage to the coastal area of Palu Bay, in the central western part of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. To clarify the distribution of tsunami inundation and run-up heights, and damage to coastal communities due to the tsunami, the authors conducted a field survey 1 month after the event. In the inner part of Palu Bay tsunami inundation and run-up heights of more than 4 m were measured at many locations, and severe damage by the tsunami to coastal low-lying settlements was observed. In the areas to the north of the bay and around its entrance the tsunami inundation and run-up heights were lower than in the inner part of the bay. The tsunami inundation distance depended on the topographical features of coastal areas. The southern shore of the bay experienced a longer inundation distance than other shores, though generally severe damage to houses was limited to within around 200 m from the shoreline. The main lessons that can be learnt from the present event are also discussed.

The September 28 2018 Palu tsunami surprised the scientific community, as neither the earthquake magnitude nor its strike-slip mechanism were deemed capable of producing the wave heights that were observed. However, recent research has shown that the earthquake generated several landslides inside Palu bay. The authors conducted a post-disaster field survey of the area affected to collect spatial data on tsunami inundation heights, nearshore and bay bathymetry, and carried out eyewitness interviews to collect testimonies of the event. In addition, numerical simulations of the tsunami generation and propagation mechanisms were carried out and validated with the inferred time series. Seven small submarine landslides were identified along the western shore of the bay, and one large one was reported on the eastern shore of Palu City. Most of these landslides occurred at river mouths and reclamation areas, where soft submarine sediments had accumulated. The numerical simulations support a scenario in which the tsunami waves that arrived at Palu city 4–10 min after the earthquake were caused by the co-seismic seafloor deformation, possibly coupled with secondary waves generated from several submarine landslides. These findings suggest that more comprehensive methodologies and tools need to be used when assessing probabilistic tsunami hazards in narrow bays.

Water level oscillations induced by the ground motion of an earthquake have occasionally been observed in a closed or partially enclosed water system. The generated water disturbances can induce localized flooding, boat collisions, breakage/damage of moored cables due to water disturbances, or even the capsizing of vessels. In this study, the authors focused on cases of seismic water level oscillations in canals and attempted to investigate the potential hazards of and effective countermeasures against them through numerical simulations. The proposed numerical simulation model was first validated by reproducing the water level oscillation that was actually observed at a canal in Mexico City (Xochimilco Canal) during the 2017 Central Mexico Earthquake. The method was then applied to one of the canals in Tokyo (Keihin Canal) to clarify the potential water level fluctuations that can take place due to this phenomenon. The results indicate that while the risks of local inundation would be low, small boats, which can be found in many places in the canal, are at risk of capsizing. Finally, the use of wave-dissipating blocks was found to be an effective countermeasure to decrease the potential for a significant seismic water level oscillation to take place in this canal.