Influence of coastal vegetation on the 2004 tsunami wave impact in west Aceh.

نویسندگان

Juan Carlos Laso Bayas

Carsten Marohn

Gerd Dercon

Sonya Dewi

Hans Peter Piepho

Laxman Joshi

Meine van Noordwijk

Georg Cadisch

چکیده

In a tsunami event human casualties and infrastructure damage are determined predominantly by seaquake intensity and offshore properties. On land, wave energy is attenuated by gravitation (elevation) and friction (land cover). Tree belts have been promoted as "bioshields" against wave impact. However, given the lack of quantitative evidence of their performance in such extreme events, tree belts have been criticized for creating a false sense of security. This study used 180 transects perpendicular to over 100 km on the west coast of Aceh, Indonesia to analyze the influence of coastal vegetation, particularly cultivated trees, on the impact of the 2004 tsunami. Satellite imagery; land cover maps; land use characteristics; stem diameter, height, and planting density; and a literature review were used to develop a land cover roughness coefficient accounting for the resistance offered by different land uses to the wave advance. Applying a spatial generalized linear mixed model, we found that while distance to coast was the dominant determinant of impact (casualties and infrastructure damage), the existing coastal vegetation in front of settlements also significantly reduced casualties by an average of 5%. In contrast, dense vegetation behind villages endangered human lives and increased structural damage. Debris carried by the backwash may have contributed to these dissimilar effects of land cover. For sustainable and effective coastal risk management, location of settlements is essential, while the protective potential of coastal vegetation, as determined by its spatial arrangement, should be regarded as an important livelihood provider rather than just as a bioshield.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

استفاده از نرم‌افزار ComMIT در پهنه‌بندی خطر سونامی در سواحل جاسک

In the Tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004, although there was a large distance between the earthquake center of Indian Ocean and coastal cities of Iran, the Tsunami waves brought some damages in Chabahar coast. This means that if the earthquake center was closer to Iran, Iran’s coastal regions would have confronted serious danger... In the present study, we used ComMIT software (Community Model Int...

متن کامل

GPU-SPH simulation of Tsunami-like wave interaction with a seawall associated with underwater

Investigation of the waves generated by underwater disturbances gives precious insight into the effect of man-made underwater explosions as well as natural phenomena, such as underwater volcanoes or oceanic meteor impact. On the other hand, prediction of the effects of such waves on the coastal installations and structures is required for preparation worthwhile criteria for coastal engineers to...

متن کامل

Addressing Psychosocial Needs in the Aftermath of the Tsunami

0486 On the morning of 26 December 2004, an earthquake of 9.2 on the Richter scale rocked the province of Aceh, Indonesia, followed soon after by a three-wave tsunami that smashed into the north, west, and topmost point of Aceh. The most heavily hit city, in terms of population, was Banda Aceh on the northernmost point of the Aceh peninsula, exposed between the north and west coast—two-thirds o...

متن کامل

Tsunami mortality in Aceh Province, Indonesia.

OBJECTIVE Nine tsunami-affected districts in Aceh, Indonesia, were surveyed between February and August 2005 to characterize tsunami mortality. METHODS The surveys employed a two-stage cluster methodology with probability proportional to size sampling, and encompassed 1653 tsunami-displaced households with a pre-tsunami population of 10 063 individuals. FINDINGS Of the original pre-tsunami ...

متن کامل