Tsunamis are some of the most devastating natural disasters to human life and property. Today, hundreds of millions of people live in tsunami prone regions and increasing migration to coastal areas amplifies the exposure to this hazard. With respect to aviation, there are over 1400 aerodromes worldwide that are used for international air transport. Globally, 25% of those are located near the coast at elevations lower than 10m. That percentage reaches 45% in Asia which represents the most exposed region of all.
The graph below highlights the 30 international aerodromes that have been the most frequently exposed to tsunamis between 1996 and 2016. The horizontal axis shows the distance between the international aerodromes and the epicentres. We observe that 24 of those are located in the Pacific which emphasizes the vulnerability of the area. The dots represent specific tsunamis and contain information on the height of the waves and the distance to the airports presented. The size of the dots grows with the height of the wave, the higher the wave, the darker the colour.
Tsunami HONSHU: S COAST (JAPAN), 2009-08-10 Height: 29m Distance: 134km
