Question:
| Is there any work currently underway to develop tsunami design criteria for shelters or critical facilities? |
Answer:
| Yes, there is a joint National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/FEMA-funded effort currently underway to do just that. Given the significant level of risk that exists for the residents of the certain coastal communities in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Hawaii, the co-funded FEMA/NOAA work for the development of guidance for the design of structures that could be used for vertical evacuation will be a significant step toward improving the protection of the residents of these communities. The first phase of this effort is being managed by the State of Washington under a $100,000 grant from NOAA under the NTHMP. In Phase 1, data regarding tsunamis and their potential forces on structures was collected. The Phase 1 work was preceded by a workshop held in 2003 and attended by engineers from the different affected States. A report on this workshop has been issued by the NTHMP. The overall Phase 1 work is complete and the report is being finalized. The second phase will determine whether it is possible to design and build a structure to withstand specific tsunami loads and, if so, to develop a technical design and construction guidance document for special facilities that would allow for vertical evacuation from tsunami conditions. This work would continue and build on the work started in Phase 1. Funding for this 2-year $400,000 effort will be equally divided between FEMA, the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), and NOAA, through the NTHMP. The Phase 2 work will be done with input from the engineering and design communities and the States to research and produce the construction design guidance for a tsunami shelter structure capable of withstanding both the severe ground shaking expected during a design earthquake and specific velocities and water pressure from a tsunami that would impact structures. This is a significant challenge since current design practice takes into account earthquake or coastal storm surge but does not address stronger forces that a tsunami would generate. The project will work with the Oregon State University’s improved tsunami testing basin, recently funded by the National Science Foundation’s Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES). The project is being done under contract to the Applied Technology Council, and is just getting underway. A third phase is planned, where information for States and local communities on how this tsunami design guidance can be utilized will be develop. This information will especially be critical for low-lying communities that lack evacuation access to high ground following a local earthquake and that may have to rely on vertical evacuation in existing buildings. Funding is anticipated to be $100,000, also equally divided between NOAA and FEMA. |
Last Updated: 2007-01-08 16:47:45.0
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