Journal of Natural Disaster Science

REGIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY TYPHOON 8513 ALONG THE COASTLINES IN THE CLOSED SEA AREA OF KUMAMOTO PREFECTURE

Ryusuke HASHIMURA
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Kumamoto Institute of Technology, Kumamoto

(Received 13 October 1992 in revised form 27 December 1993)

Abstract

Typhoon 8513 proceeded north off the east coast of Okinawa, and took a northly course near the western part of the Yatsushiro and Ariake Seas, a closed sea area in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Maritime structures in Kumamoto Prefecture suffered the greatest damage done by typhoons in the past ten years. This is because the course taken by Typhoon 8513 was one of the worst possible for maritime structure damage on the coasts facing the Ariake and Yatsushiro Seas.

The relation between Typhoon 8513 and the statistics of the damage done is discussed in order to clarify the regional characteristics of the damage. The relationship of the course of the typhoon to the regional characteristics of the state of damage, the locations of the damaged structures, the scale of damage, and the rate of damage scale are clarified. The damage done depended on the regional characteristics of marine phenomena.

Key words

typhoon disaster, closed sea area, maritime structure, coast and port, storm surge