Yasamin O. IZADKHAH1, Nasser H. ZAKER2, Bibielham FAKHRI BAFGHI2 1International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES) Iran, Islamic Republic of; 2Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran

1. Yasamin O. Izadkhah,
Assistant Professor, International Inst. Of
Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
(IEES), Iran
Bibi Elham Fakhri,
MSc Graduate, University of Tehran, Iran
IDRC Davos 2012

2. INTRODUCTION
CASE STUDY
METHODOLOGY
DATA ANALYSIS
CONCLUSION

3. One of the most devastating natural disasters
Usually results in death of thousands people and
billions of dollars of damage
o Terrible Tsunami in Japan, 11 March 2011
o Deadly Tsunami in Indonesia, 26 December 2004
o Tsunami in Makran Subduction Zone,
28 November 1945 by an earthquake with a magnitude
of 8.1
o With the death toll of more than 4000 people
o Along the coastlines of Iran, Pakistan, India & Oman

4. Two main Tsunamigenic Sources in Indian Ocean
o Indonesia Subduction Zone
o Makran Subduction Zone

5. CHABAHAR
Chabahar is a free port (Free Trade Zone)
on the coast of the Gulf of Oman;
The largest coastal city of Iran in the
Northern part of the Oman (Makran) Sea,
adjacent to Makran Sub-duction Zone;
Located in Sistan-Balouchestan Province;
Chabahar is Iran's southernmost city;
warm climate 35 in June;
At the 2006 census, its population was
71,070, in 13,837 families;
The most vulnerable region in Iran to
tsunamis with 300Km of water border with
Oman Sea;

6. Situation of Chabahaar In Iran
Epicenter of 1945 Tsunami In Makran sea

7. Distributing questionnaires to three various
groups of respondents including:
- Residents,
- School children, and
- Governmental officials.

8. Collecting data by field technique through simple
random sampling;
Face to face interviews and library studies.

9. Familiarity with the word and concept of "Tsunami":
 15% of people were completely unfamiliar with the word
"Tsunami".
 Only %69.5 of those who were familiar with the term
could define it correctly.
 About 70% of all who were familiar with tsunami were
males.
Effect of Indonesia tsunami on raising awareness:
 78% of those who knew about tsunami were unaware of
it before the tsunami.

10. Probable occurrence of tsunamis in the region:
 Only 52.8% of people were positive about the probable
occurrence of tsunami.
Necessity of existence of Tsunami Early Warning
system in the region:
 77% of people were unaware of the existence of such a
system
 59.4% even didn’t know if such a system existed at all
Interest in training about tsunami:
 96% were so eager to learn and to be trained about
tsunami

11. Investigating the role of some factors such
as:
- The distance of the person’s house to the coast,
- Education
on the public knowledge of people:
 Distance had no effect on the knowledge of
people.
The high knowledge level of the students to
tsunami is significant. The role of school
teaching was far more highlighted.

12. Awareness of 41.5 % of the governmental
officials about warning system of tsunami.
This level of awareness was acceptable
comparing with that of the normal level
in society.
Moreover, over 45% of the governmental
officials were also familiar with methods
of confronting against tsunamis;

13. Four categories for acquiring knowledge about tsunami
among people:

14. Estimation of
tsunami run-up
in people's point
of view
People’s lack of knowledge about the run-up is evident which
is quite understandable due to their limited knowledge about
tsunamis.

15. Estimation of the
tsunami
development towards
coastline based on
people's point of view

16.  The overall knowledge of people about tsunami was
not satisfactory, especially among women.
Students play an important role in transferring
knowledge to their parents, and more knowledge-
able than others regarding tsunami, it would be a
good idea to start training them from school.
Regarding to the role of media in raising people’s
knowledge, producing educational programs in
this regard to be broadcasted on TV and radio,
especially on local channels would be very useful.

17. Setting up billboards in the city implying the
dangers of tsunami and the ways of confronting it
would be quite good to raise knowledge. Also
holding posters in public places is beneficial.
Due to the cultural shortages, preaching safety
culture seems to be a hard job. However, this duty
can be done by the religious leaders.
 Finally and most important, the training and
education must be in accordance with people’s
cultural background.

18. Email: izad@iiees.ac.ir