DEBRIS AND VESSEL TRANSPORT DUE TO TSUNAMI CURRENTS IN PORTS AND HARBORS

The focus of the discussion will be on the debris and vessel transport capacity of the tsunami induced currents in ports and harbors. The tsunami events in the past 15 years proved that understanding these processes within the port/harbor basin has paramount importance in safety, recovery and the long-term resilience planning of the facilities; as all of these depend on the ability of structures or infrastructure to resist damage and the capability of harbors to become functional after the event. This endeavor requires an accurate representation of the flow field around the floating objects. Particularly, when the size of an average container ship is considered among with its’ fairly high draft to depth ratio, the interaction between flow and the vessels gets stronger. Therefore, in this study, the developed numerical tool, which is coupled with a 2HD nonlinear shallow water model, takes the interaction between the flow and the objects into account, and provides accurate results in a computationally efficient way. We will also present example simulation results of a numerical modelling study aimed at providing the quantitative guidance on maritime tsunami hazards in ports and harbors. This information can be used in pre-disaster recovery planning with the identification of the safe mooring spots or where the debris will likely accumulate after future tsunamis. Whilst the harbor’s ability to resist damage is a function of reducing the exposure to hazardous conditions as well as the maintaining/upgrading the structures/infrastructure within the harbors.