The impact of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake tsunami disaster and implications to the reconstruction

The authors conducted a comprehensive study to identify the impact of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami disaster and to understand the lessons towards the reconstruction of Tohoku to build tsunami-resilient community. First, the authors identified the extent of tsunami inundation zone by field measurement and satellite remote sensing. A specific index for optical satellite images was applied for the extraction of tsunami inland penetration calibrated with the ground truth data (field survey data). Second, an integrated investigation of field measurement and aerial photo and video inspections with spatial information sciences was performed to understand the hydrodynamic aspect of tsunami inland penetration with a form of tsunami flow velocity and hydrodynamic force, and the preliminary results lead to new understandings of structural vulnerability against the 2011 tsunami with a form of tsunami fragility curve and an implication for land use management and relocation planning to reconstruct resilient coastal communities.