Abstract:
Tsunamis can cause severe destruction in coastal areas. Though the tsunami hazard
itself cannot be mitigated nor eliminated, the vulnerable element can be protected by a variety of
mitigation measures. Bio shields, including coral reefs, coastal sand dunes and vegetation have been
known to provide protection against tsunami inundation. The protection provided by bio shields was
evident after the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 in many of the countries affected.*In view of these
circumstances, attention was focused in this study to identify the capacity of protection provided by
bio shields. Small scale physical model tests have been carried out to identify the mitigation
characteristics of bio shields in the form of coastal vegetation. This study focused on detailed analysis
of the results obtained by model tests. The protection capacity offered by the vegetation was assessed
by considering two aspects, namely energy dissipation and reduction in the extent of inundation.
Citation:
Jayawardena, D.M.S.S., Hewageegana, V.H., & Ratnasooriya, A.H.R. (2014). Tsunami hazards: energy dissipation and impact mitigation using bio shields. In M.T.P. Hettiarachchi (Ed.), Proceedings of the Civil Engineering Research Symposium 2014 (pp. 117-124). Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa.