Volume 3, Number 3, October 2005

STUDY ON TSUNAMI DAMAGE MITIGATION IS NOW ACTIVELYONGOING AT NILIM
Since 2004, the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (NILIM) has been
conducting research on the prevention of tsunami disasters. The objective of this work is todevelop methodologies to:z develop inundation map that shows detailed images of damaged facilities,z assess the spread effects of facility damages and their inter-dependency, andz formulate effective disaster prevention plans.
To estimate detailed images of damaged facilities, a series of experiments were performed tomeasure tsunami wave force acting on bridges and dikes using NILIM’s wave channel facility.
These experiments were conducted following the Indian Ocean Tsunami on 26 December 2004.
A case study for an individual city is underway to analyze the spread effects of damaged facilities
using the Inundation Mapping mentioned above. This research is expected to be completed inFY 2006.
Contact: Mr. Takaaki KUSAKABE, Head, Earthquake Disaster Prevention Division, ResearchCenter for Disaster Risk Management, NILIM, kusakabe-t88d8@nilim.go.jp

Inundation Map with Damaged Facilities
Experiments to Measure Tsunami Wave ForceA REFLECTION ON THE PANEL’S WIND ENGINEERINGWind engineering research in the US has been historically acutely under funded despite the large
annual impacts and significant potential for major storm-related catastrophic loss (as evidenced
graphically in 2005 by Katrina and Rita). This situation exists in other countries as well, including
Japan. The infrequent impacts of major events such as windstorms drives a need to maximize
learning from any event that occurs, even in other countries. Bi-Lateral like the Panel are
important in enabling the broader community to maximize learning from such events. Thisobservation extends to wind effects on unique, major structures such a long-span bridges.
Considerable synergy between the US and Japan in Wind engineering existed over the morethan 30 past years as the relative few wind researchers in the US and Japan were able toeffectively exchange data and ideas in a manner that promoted significant advances on bothsides of the Pacific. The annual Wind and Seismic Effects Panel meetings, as well as theworkshops organized under the Panel’s umbrella have been instrumental in this process.
The ability to actively collaborate with researchers in other regions on topics of mutual
contemporary interest offers important efficiencies strategically, and perhaps even more so in thefuture. The Panel has played an important role in the past, as the results from complementaryresearch efforts have been shared and synergized. In areas of common interest, differentapproaches have been shared and evaluated leading to improvements in approaches used by allparticipants. In the future, areas of common interest can be discussed and tasks allocated toavoid duplication and the maximization of return. In the current climate of severe resource
limitations, this collaborative, multi-country approach to wind engineering research will be
increasingly important, and the Panel enjoys a position of leadership that can be built upon. Thispotential evolution of the role of the Panel from one of simply information sharing to strategic
collaboration is very important. As our focus expands to include considerations of broader social
impacts, the effects of which were graphically illustrated this hurricane season, the need for
effective and strategic collaboration across disciplinary as well as international boundaries will
become increasingly important.
The potential for Panel leadership in fostering effective collaborative activities should beleveraged to obtain support from other government agencies. While collaborations can occur
without the Panel’s intervention, this structure offers the strategic infrastructure which – if properlyexercised – can lead to otherwise unrealizable efficiencies.
Contact: Dr. Nicholas Jones, Dean, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University,npjones@jhu.edu and Co-Chair, US-side Task Committee on Wind Engineering.