COASTAL RISK IN THE ALGIERS REGION (ALGERIA): INSIGHTS FROM TSUNAMI VELOCITIES, SEISMIC GROUND MOTION AND REMOTE SENSING

Abstract

The Algiers region (Algeria) is exposed to destructive earthquakes that sometimes trigger tsunamis. In this paper, we present an interdisciplinary approach that identifies the locations prone to related induced damage for a worst-case scenario off Algiers. Firstly, a tsunami modeling for a 7.6 earthquake in the Khair Al Din Bank is computed with the Geoclaw package. The simulation indicates that the maximum values for the surface heights are about 1.5 meters and 40 to 60 m/s for the flow velocities. Seismic shaking maps are computed as well using the OpenSHA application for the same earthquake scenario. The results show that the peak ground accelerations and peak ground velocities are the highest in the Algiers massif, which means that this area is the most exposed to a high level of infrastructural damage. Finally, the use of remote sensing and GIS applications helped to generate a susceptibility to flooding hazard map for the bay of Algiers. This approach showed that the central and the eastern part of the bay have the higher susceptibility degree to flooding.

Keywords

• Tsunami
• ground motion
• Algeria
• flow velocities
• surface heights