ABSTRACT
In Chapter 34, Sundar discusses tsunami protection measures for the coast of Tamil Nadu in India. Even though the discussion was specifically for Tamil Nadu, the techniques elaborated upon are sufficiently general, so that they are adaptable, with some modifications, if required, to other tsunami-prone coastlines on the Indian Ocean, or indeed any other ocean. The author emphasises the use of dual-use technologies and mentions that groins built earlier for coastal protection helped to reduce the impact of the 26 December 2004 tsunami. He also suggests that both structural (seawalls, engineering structures) as well as non-structural measures, such as mangrove forests, etc. should be considered. Finally, the author mentions that tsunami protection measures will also offer protection against other marine hazards, such as storm surges and coastal erosion.
