Deterministic study on the potential large tsunami hazard in Taiwan

Taught by the lesson from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, we aim to probe into the potential large-scale trench-typed tsunami threats to Taiwan by means of the deterministic method. In this paper, 18 trench-typed tsunami sources and the 4 fault-typed tsunami sources will be constructed. The detailed construction, including the rupture length and width, the scale of seismic moment, the slip as well as the dip angle, will be elaborated. The tsunami numerical model, COMCOT, will be applied to simulate tsunami propagation, run-up and inundation; multi-nested grids will be used for a complete simulation of the process of a tsunami from the beginning to the inundation. The simulation result shows that tsunami source from the northern segment of the Manila Trench will pose a serious threat to the safety of Taiwan's southwest coast. The tsunami energy from the Yap Trench can be substantially projected onto Taiwan, and threatens the coasts of northern, eastern, southern, as well as south-western Taiwan. The tsunami source from off the coast of Hualien will have a greater influence on the east coast of Taiwan.