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Tsunami Hazard in La Réunion Island (SW Indian Ocean): Scenario-Based Numerical Modelling on Vulnerable Coastal Sites

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Abstract

Several major tsunamis have affected the southwest Indian Ocean area since the 2004 Sumatra event, and some of them (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010) have hit La Réunion Island in the southwest Indian Ocean. However, tsunami hazard is not well defined for La Réunion Island where vulnerable coastlines can be exposed. This study offers a first tsunami hazard assesment for La Réunion Island. We first review the historical tsunami observations made on the coastlines, where high tsunami waves (2–3 m) have been reported on the western coast, especially during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Numerical models of historical scenarios yield results consistent with available observations on the coastal sites (the harbours of La Pointe des Galets and Saint-Paul). The 1833 Pagai earthquake and tsunami can be considered as the worst-case historical scenario for this area. In a second step, we assess the tsunami exposure by covering the major subduction zones with syntethic events of constant magnitude (8.7, 9.0 and 9.3). The aggregation of magnitude 8.7 scenarios all generate strong currents in the harbours (3–7 m s\(^{-1}\)) and about 2 m of tsunami maximum height without significant inundation. The analysis of the magnitude 9.0 events confirms that the main commercial harbour (Port Est) is more vulnerable than Port Ouest and that flooding in Saint-Paul is limited to the beach area and the river mouth. Finally, the magnitude 9.3 scenarios show limited inundations close to the beach and in the riverbed in Saint-Paul. More generally, the results confirm that for La Runion, the Sumatra subduction zone is the most threatening non-local source area for tsunami generation. This study also shows that far-field coastal sites should be prepared for tsunami hazard and that further work is needed to improve operational warning procedures. Forecast methods should be developed to provide tools to enable the authorities to anticipate the local effects of tsunamis and to evacuate the harbours in sufficient time when such an earthquake occurs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the PREPARTOI project and by the LRC (Laboratoire de Recherche Commun Yves Rocard CEA-ENS Paris). The authors thank the PREPARTOI partners for fruitful discussion on tsunami hazard and observations in the Indian Ocean. E.A. Okal is also acknowledged for discussion about the far-field modelling in the Indian Ocean and we also the discussion with F. Schindele about warning procedures and tsunami hazard. This work was supported by resources provided by the Pawsey Supercomputing Center with funding from the Australian Gouvernement and the Gouvernement of Western Australia. Preliminary computations were performed using HPC resources from GENCI-CCRT (France) and the Terrawulf cluster, a computational facility supported through the AuScope initiative. AuScope Ltd. is funded under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), an Australian Commonwealth Government Program. The authors thank the two anonymous reviewers for their comments and Dr. H. McQueen for reading the manuscript.

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  1. Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    S. Allgeyer

  2. CEA, DAM, DIF, 91291, Arpajon, France

    É. Quentel, H. Hébert, A. Gailler & A. Loevenbruck

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  1. S. Allgeyer
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Allgeyer, S., Quentel, É., Hébert, H. et al. Tsunami Hazard in La Réunion Island (SW Indian Ocean): Scenario-Based Numerical Modelling on Vulnerable Coastal Sites. Pure Appl. Geophys. 174, 3123–3145 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-017-1632-9

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