Coastal Indian Lifelines after the 2004 Great Sumatra Earthquake and Indian Ocean Tsunami

Abstract

Damage to the electric power system was confined to the distribution system, in particular to electric power poles that were downed by the tsunami. The power generation plants and substations were over 1 km inland and escaped damage. The telecommunication system performed well, and the postdisaster response was reasonably efficient, but inundation caused the shutdown of equipment. The major Tamil Nadu port, the Port of Chennai, performed well, and its seawalls reduced the tsunami impact. However, all the fish auction stations were damaged, thus affecting many villagers’ livelihoods. The transportation system in the southern coast suffered heavy damage, and much of the infrastructure along the east coast was damaged. Most municipal water storage tanks remained intact. However, seawater contaminated wells and arable land, and the long-term environmental and ecological effects of this are unknown.

Vulnerability of power distribution utility poles to tsunami bore impacts

“…Recent tsunamis in Chile (2010), Japan (2011), Palu (2018), and Tonga (2022) damaged coastal generation and transmission facilities, disrupting the national or local electricity network (Norio et al, 2011;Mori and Takahashi, 2012;Suppasri et al, 2012;Horspool and Fraser, 2016;Omira et al, 2019;Paulik et al, 2019;WorldBank, 2022). In addition, damage to utility poles was reported following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (Tang et al, 2006;Reese et al, 2007) and the 2018 Sulawesi Earthquake and Tsunami (Paulik et al, 2019). Prevalent damage modes recorded in surveys following these events included scour around pole foundations, tilted poles, poles snapped at their base and displaced poles.…”

Assessing transportation vulnerability to tsunamis: utilising post-event field data from the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami, Japan, and the 2015 Illapel tsunami, Chile

“…Access to impacted populations and repair works to other lifelines can be delayed by roads that are damaged or have reduced levels of service (Eguchi et al, 2013;Horspool and Fraser, 2016;Koks et al, 2019;Nakanishi et al, 2014;Williams et al, 2019). Observations from previous international tsunamis have recorded widespread damage and loss of service to transportation assets, including from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2010 Maule tsunami, Chile (Ballantyne, 2006;Edwards, 2006;Evans and McGhie, 2011;Fritz et al, 2011;Goff et al, 2006;Lin et al, 2019;Palliyaguru and Amaratunga, 2008;Paulik et al, 2019;Scawthorn et al, 2006;Tang et al, 2006). Defining road asset vulnerability to tsunamis is important for impact assessment and evaluation of mitigation strategies to reduce potential impacts on road networks.…”