Researchers develop tsunami atlas

A team of researchers has created a tsunami travel time atlas to assist in predicting the time taken by a giant wave to travel in the Indian Ocean.

Tsunami expert T R Murthy, who was part of a team that prepared the atlas in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur and Delhi, said it will help centres in India and abroad anticipate the tsunami striking the coasts.

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He said the speed of a tsunami depended on the depth of the ocean in the area where it was generated, but not on the intensity of the earthquake.

He said it will also be possible to surmise the height of a tsunami. For instance a giant wave in the Gulf of Kutch could rise up to 15 metres and in the Gulf of Cambay up to 13 metres.

A tsunami striking the Kerala coast could be between 7 and 8 metres high and near Kudalur and Nagapattinam up to 9 metres.

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The coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh are likely to tidal waves between 2 and 6 metres high.

He said the Visakhapatnam coast was relatively safe from a tsunami hit, but may see 2-3 metres high surges if the waves are not in the energy-direction line.