A global assessment of tsunami hazards over the last 400 years

This report is based on a global tsunami assessment based on select 100 major historical earthquake-generated tsunamis. Based on the results of the simulation, the locations of modern tsunamis (from the periods of 1970 to 2016) greater than 2 meters in height, are limited to areas affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and the 2011 Great East Japan Tsunami. Nevertheless, damaging tsunamis have been witnessed everywhere in the world, especially along the Pacific Rim. ​This report can provide supplementary information for policy makers, urban planners, engineers, as well as scholarly research.

The authors of the assessment draw the following conclusions:

• The results demonstrate the importance of assessing or understanding the hazards based on historical events beyond recent experiences.
• Comparisons between tsunami height and wave force demonstrate that only using the tsunami height might underestimate the extent of building damage
• Potential events such as events in seismic gap as well as other types of tsunami sources should be included to assess future hazards