Three-dimensional simulation of the 1983 central East (Japan) Sea earthquake tsunami at the Imwon Port (Korea)

This article documents a study undertaken on the dynamics of water flow at the Imwon Port, Korea, during the 1983 tsunami event. The study is based on the two-dimensional nonlinear shallow water equations and the full three-dimensional-Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. The tsunami that occurred on May 26, 1983, in the East (Japan) Sea affected the Port of Imwon, where the heights of the waves were recorded at 5.1 m near the shoreline and 7.15 m in the creek. This was the highest run up ever recorded on the east Korean coast. The three-dimensional model simulation adequately reproduces the observed characteristics of the run up features, including the formation of the vortex structure inside the port.