Gegar Prasetya

Northwest Sumatra and Offshore Islands Field Survey after the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

An International Tsunami Survey Team (ITST) conducted field surveys of tsunami effects on the west coast of northern and central Sumatra and offshore islands 3–4 months after the 26 December 2004 tsunami. The study sites spanned 800 km of coastline from Breuh Island north of Banda Aceh to the Batu Islands, and included 22 sites in Aceh province in Sumatra and on Simeulue Island, Nias Island, the Banyak Islands, and the Batu Islands. Tsunami runup, elevation, flow depth, inundation distance, sedimentary characteristics of deposits, near-shore bathymetry, and vertical land movement (subsidence and uplift) were studied. The maximum tsunami elevations were greater than 16 m, and the maximum tsunami flow depths were greater than 13 m at all sites studied along 135 km of coastline in northwestern Sumatra. Tsunami flow depths were as much as 10 m at 1,500 m inland. Extensive tsunami deposits, primarily composed of sand and typically 5–20 cm thick, were observed in northwestern Sumatra.

Smong: How an Oral History Saved Thousands on Indonesia's Simeulue Island during the December 2004 and March 2005 Tsunamis

The tsunamis on 26 December 2004 and 28 March 2005 killed only 7 people on Simeulue Island in Indonesias Aceh province. At Langi, on the north end of Simeulue, which is 40 km south of the December earthquakes epicenter, maximum wave heights exceeded 10 m less than 10 minutes after the shaking ceased. In the more populous south, wave heights averaged 3 m and caused significant structural damage, destroying entire villages. Oral histories recount a massive 1907 tsunami and advise running to the hills after “significant” shaking (∼1 minute). All the interviewed Simeulue survivors knew of this event and of the necessary action. However, Jantang, on the Aceh mainland, suffered far more casualties. Simeulues oral history provided an extraordinarily powerful mitigation tool that saved countless lives where even a high-tech warning system with a 15-minute response time would have been of no help.

Modelling of tsunamis generated by pyroclastic flows (Ignimbrites)

Pyroclastic flows entering the sea played a major role in generating the largest tsunamiwaves, arising from the 1883 eruption of Krakatau, Indonesia, which caused a considerabledeath toll, most deaths resulting from the tsunamis. The potential exists for similar eventsto occur in Indonesia and New Zealand.Processes leading to tsunami generation by pyroclastic flows, especially those associatedwith Krakatau-type eruptions, are reviewed. The major processes include:1. Deposition at the shoreline causing a lateral displacement as the zone of depositionmoves offshore.2. Upward and lateral displacement of water caused by the propagation of a watersupported mass-flow.3. Downward and lateral displacement of water caused by the sinking of debris from a segregated flow travelling over the water surface.4. Upward displacement of a large volume of water due to the deposition of acaldera-infill ignimbrite or pyroclastic flow deposit.The pyroclastic flow is modelled as a horizontal piston forcingwater displacement. The flow behaves as a wedge of material displacingseawater horizontally and vertically as it moves outwards from the source.Individual pyroclastic flows are treated as linear features that travel alonga specific direction from the volcano, exhibiting limited lateral spreading.The event duration for the formation of a large pyroclastic flow and thedeposition of the ignimbrite is taken as 200–400 s, with flow velocitiesdependent on the volume of material erupted.For simulations it is assumed that the ignimbrite deposit is elliptical with relativelyuniform thickness and the principal axis orientated along the flow direction. Therefore the tsunami is generated by defining an elliptical source region and defining an effective displacement behaviour at each node within that region. The effective displacement is defined by a start time, a finish time and a vertical velocity. These three parameters determine when the seafloor starts to rise and how far it travels during a model time step. The result is a seafloor disturbance that propagates away from the source.The major difficulty with this approach is determination of the appropriate verticalvelocity. With a real pyroclastic flow the effective vertical velocity at any point isvery high. However the model needs to average the displacement spatially andtemporally. Accordingly we apply the model to pyroclastic flows from Mayor Island, New Zealand to examine the influence of model parameters. To further calibrate the numerical model this study is being undertaken in conjunction with physical modelling of the Krakatau 1883 eruption at the Indonesian Tsunami Research Center, BPPT, Jakarta. Historical data will also be used to refine and calibrate the pyroclastic flow model.

The Makassar Strait tsunamigenic region, Indonesia

The Makassar Strait region has had the highest frequency of historical tsunamievents for Indonesia. The strait has a seismic activity due to the convergenceof four tectonic plates that produces a complex mixture of structures. The maintsunamigenic features in the Makassar Strait are the Palu-Koro and Pasternostertransform fault zones, which form the boundaries of the Makassar trough.Analysis of the seismicity, tectonics and historic tsunami events indicatesthat the two fault zones have different tsunami generating characteristics.The Palu-Koro fault zone involves shallow thrust earthquakes that generatetsunami that have magnitudes that are consistent with the earthquakemagnitudes. The Pasternoster fault zone involves shallower strike-slipearthquakes that produce tsunami magnitudes larger than would normallybe expected for the earthquake magnitude. The most likely cause for theincreased tsunami energy is considered to be submarine landslidesassociated with the earthquakes. Earthquakes from both fault zonesappear to cause subsidence of the west coast of Sulawesi Island.The available data were used to construct a tsunami hazard map whichidentifies the highest risk along the west coast of Sulawesi Island.The opposite side of the Makassar Strait has a lower risk because it isfurther from the historic tsunami source regions along the Sulawesicoast, and because the continental shelf dissipates tsunami wave energy.The greatest tsunami risk for the Makassar Strait is attributed tolocally generated tsunami due to the very short travel times.

The 1996 Sulawesi Tsunami

On 1 January, 1996 at 16:05 p.m. local time, an earthquake of magnitude M = 7.8 struck the central part of Sulawesi Island (Indonesia). It was accompanied by tsunami waves 2–4 m high. Nine people were killed and 63 were injured. A tsunami survey was conducted by Indonesian and Russian specialists. The measured tsunami runup heights and eyewitness accounts are reported and discussed. Historical data on the Sulawesi Island tsunamis are analysed and tsunami risk prediction in the central part of Sulawesi Island carried out for the first time.

Debris dispersal modeling for the great Sumatra Tsunamis on Banda Aceh and surrounding waters

The Great Sumatra Tsunami on 26 December 2004 generated large amounts of debris and waste throughout the affected coastal region in the Indian Ocean. In Banda Aceh—Indonesia, the tsunami flows were observed carrying a thick muddy sludge that mixed with all kinds of debris from the destroyed buildings, bridges and culverts, vehicles, fallen trees, and other flotsam. This waste and debris was mostly deposited inland, but traveled both onshore and offshore. Numerical dispersal modeling is carried out to simulate the transport of debris and waste produced by the tsunamis during the event. The model solves the Lagrangian form of the transport/dispersion equations using novel particle tracking techniques. Model results show that understanding the pathway and distribution of the suspended materials and flotsam caused by tsunamis is important for a proper hazards mitigation plan and waste management action, and to minimize serious long-term adverse environmental and natural resources consequences.

Extreme Tsunami Run Up and Inundation Flows at Banda Aceh, Indonesia: Are There Any Solutions to this Type of Coastal Disaster?

Almost 3 years after the extreme 26 December 2004 tsunami event, which devastated the Banda Aceh region of Sumatra, certain coastal protection works have been planned and implemented. They comprise mainly of seawalls, breakwaters, and planting forest trees and mangroves as a wave-absorbing greenbelt. Numerical modeling of this catastrophic event was established to investigate the processes of tsunami propagation and inundation flows over the Banda Aceh coastal region, identify zones that had escaped devastation (as identified during the post event field survey) and assess possible types of coastal protection along the affected coasts. Results of the modeling showed that for protection against such a 2004-type event, huge structures ∼ 15 m high would be required, but are not economically feasible. However, mature mangroves stands may offer reasonable protection, and this option shows greater promise as an affordable solution.