Tsunamis: Economic Impact, Disaster Management and Future Challenges (Natural Disaster Research, Prediction and Mitigation)

For most of us, the impression of the word "tsunami" is a combination of multiple elements of action movie, thriller, drama and science fiction, which can only be experienced through movies such as "The Poseidon Adventure", "The Impossible", "Bait 3D", and "Haewundae, 2012". However, we have now indeed witnessed a tsunami in 2011. People are now very concerned and some are afraid of the realisation of movie scenes in our real life. More research fields have started to give attention and thought to the tsunami itself and its impact on economics, disaster management and future challenges. This book discloses the close relationship between the tsunami and all aspects of our real life: communities, markets, economic systems, industrial operations, the natural environment, medical care, emergency response, and whole societies. This book is timely and in some ways timeless; the issues discussed within its pages are matters that are of interest to all people across the world and really across time. The chapters presented focus on the theoretical positions and cognition about engineering, and different segments of research fields: the innovative integration of geographic information system with point-of-care testing for emergency response and disaster management after tsunami (Chapter 1), the adaptive capacity building through public participation (Chapter 2), the modelling and simulation of mixing and sediment processes induced by tsunamis propagating upriver (Chapter 3), the perspective of risk quantification for commercial nuclear power plants (Chapter 4), and the future role of mathematical modelling for local energy shortage recovery after tsunamis (Chapter 5). These chapters demonstrate the complexities involved in attempting to understand the impact of tsunamis in different aspects. Furthermore, it will also help to improve disaster management systems for better preparedness and future challenges.