HR: 0800h
AN: U11B-0839    [Abstracts]
TI: Somalia field survey of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
AU: * Fritz, H M
EM: hermann.fritz@gtsav.gatech.edu
AF: School of civil and environmental engineering Georgia Institute of Technology, 210 Technology Circle , Savannah, GA 31407-3038 United States
AU: Borrero, J C
EM: jborrero@usc.edu
AF: Deptartment of Civil Engineering University of Southern California, Tsunami Research Center, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2531 United States
AB: The tsunami of 26th December 2004 severely affected Somalia at a distance of 5000 km from the epicenter of the Magnitude 9.0 earthquake. Somalia allowed a detailed assessment of the far field impact of a tsunami in the main propagation direction. The Unesco mission surveyed a 400km stretch of the Puntland coast of northeastern Somalia during the period March 2 to 10, 2005. A total of 5 severly impacted towns south of the Horn of Africa were surveyed: Eyl, Bandarbeyla, Foar, Xaafuun and Bargaal. The team measured tsunami run-up heights and local flow depths based on the location of watermarks on buildings and eyewitness accounts. Maximum run-up heights up to 9m and maximum inundation distances from the shoreline up to 700m were observed. Each watermark was localized by means of global positioning systems (GPS) and photographed. Numerous eyewitness interviews were recorded on video. The tsunami impact on Somalia is compared against other locations along the shores of the Indian Ocean. The Somali coastline was the area most affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami to the east of the Indian subcontinent.
DE: 4564 Tsunamis and storm surges
DE: 9305 Africa
DE: 9340 Indian Ocean
SC: Union [U]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005