A consideration aimed at improving the resiliency of protective structures against tsunami

Abstract

In this paper the effectiveness of breakwaters to provide protection against huge tsunami was considered using numerical simulations. Kamaishi Bay, where large breakwaters had been installed, was selected as the target area, because about half the breakwaters were washed away by the tsunami produced by the Tohoku Earthquake in 2011. Therefore, the effect of breakwater protection against the 2011 tsunami is verified by comparing the different states of damage to breakwaters with numerical simulations. The results show that the protective effect provided by breakwaters against tsunami depends on the rate of opening gap, and suggest that this is an efficient way to improve the resiliency of deeper-region breakwater structures.