2023 Volume 79 Issue 17 Article ID: 23-17047
Estimating the risk of fire spreading in tsunami-affected areas is crucial for mitigating the impact of a tsunami disaster, as fires pose a significant threat to tsunami evacuation buildings and hinder rescue and recovery operations. During a tsunami event, combustible debris resulting from earthquakes and tsunamis is not only displaced and accumulated within inundated areas but also carried onto the sea surface by the force of the tsunamis. Consequently, this debris significantly contributes to the spread of fires. However, existing risk assessment models for tsunami-related fires have primarily relied on data from individual target cells to estimate the risk, without taking into consideration the influence of tsunami debris from other inundated cells and the sea surface. To address this limitation, we have developed a new risk assessment model for the spread of tsunami-related fires, considering the effect of debris and large amounts of oil spills in inundated cells other than a target cell and in the adjacent sea surface. The results of our regression analysis underscore the importance of considering the effect of such debris and oil spills in the risk assessment of fire spreading.
