Initial stage of database development for tsunami warning system along Turkish coasts

The highly active seismic potential of Eastern Mediterranean raises a question about risk mitigation when a possible tsunami hits the coastline. A proper risk mitigation plan and tsunami assessment can be achieved by creating a fully detailed database. In this study, 38 scenarios created using this database on bathymetric and topographic data in sufficient resolution using valid and verified numerical tool called NAMI DANCE, helps us to understand the tsunami generation, propagation, coastal inundation aided by visualization. The uncertainties in defining seismic source parameters and the effect of dip and rake (slip) angle are discussed. The performance and efficiency of the numerical code, the accuracy of the results in the application to Eastern Mediterranean Tsunamis and the comparisons of simulation results in nested domains for the towns of Iskenderun and Kas are given as case studies. According to this study, northwest and south-west of Turkey may have tsunami risks more than the other regions. The maximum wave amplitudes that hit the coasts are more than 4 m and about 6 m at some localities. The arrival time of the first wave to hit the coast varies between 15 min to 60 min depending on the proximity to the source location. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.