A tsunami-proof building is a purposefully designed building which will, through its design integrity, withstand and survive the forces of a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

wave or extreme

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

. It is hydrodynamically shaped to offer protection from high waves. This thus causes the building to be dubbed 'tsunami-proof'.

Examples

An example of such an architecture is where a

laminar flow In fluid dynamics, laminar flow is characterized by fluid particles following smooth paths in layers, with each layer moving smoothly past the adjacent layers with little or no mixing. At low velocities, the fluid tends to flow without lateral mi ...

around a building will protect the walls. The structure can also rest on a hollow masonry block that for example can hold a body of water to sustain a family. Another example of such tsunami-proof techniques is when breakaway windows or walls are used. A known example of this has been built on the northern end of

Camano Island Camano Island is a large island in Possession Sound, a section of Puget Sound. It is part of Island County, Washington, and is located between Whidbey Island and the mainland (Snohomish County) by the Saratoga Passage to the west and Port Susa ...

. A design can include battered walls,

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

steps and a wooden superstructure with the walls jutting out. Bamboo ply panels can be added to cover the sides. A structure like this, concomitant with its mechanical strength, will provide its occupants with independent potable water storage for an extended period of time. The first example known has been constructed at Poovar Island in southern

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

.Standing tall against tsunami
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United States

In the United States, there is a recognized lack of tsunami-proof design, especially in vital installations such as aging nuclear reactors in vulnerable regions. For instance, the Unified

Building Code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for constructed objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permissi ...

of California does not have any provision about designing for tsunamis. There are only a few states, such as

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, that began incorporating tsunami-proof design within their building codes. Some experts, however, doubt the efficacy of the tsunami-proof buildings, arguing that the force of the tsunami is unknown and that the impact is often so great that specialized building elements would be rendered ineffectual.

Tsunami-proof buildings in Japan

There are important facilities in Japan, which is often inundated with tsunamis, that feature tsunami-proof design. The

Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant The is a nuclear power plant in the city of Omaezaki in Shizuoka Prefecture, on Japan's east coast, 200 km south-west of Tokyo. It is managed by the Chubu Electric Power Company. There are five units contained at a single site with a net ...

has a barrier wall designed to protect the facility from tsunami wave caused by an earthquake predicted along the Nankai Sea trough. The barrier itself is made of continuous steel pipes and steel box frames. In other Japanese nuclear facilities, tsunami proofing includes building elements such as doors and balconies in the reactor and auxiliary buildings. The March 2011

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 ...

was caused by a tsunami wave high that overtopped the plant's high

seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...

. Despite its defenses, the Hamaoka plant has been shut down since May 2011 to avoid a similar disaster.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsunami-Proof Building Housing Tsunami

Examples

United States

Tsunami-proof buildings in Japan

See also

References