Ocean-atmosphere coupled simulation of storm surge and high waves caused by cyclone nargis in 2008

Abstract

The wind-wave-current interface model that consists of an atmosphere model, wave boundary layer model and ocean hydrodynamics model is applied to the hindcast simulation of cyclone Nargis that made a catastrophic landfall in the low-lying areas of the Irrawaddy River delta in Myanmar in May 2008. Wave computations showed that the WW3 model performed inaccurately in the conditions of extreme shallow water depths under extreme meteorological conditions. In contrast to WW3, SWAN model performed reasonably in simulating the cyclone wave fields. The results emphasized that during severe storm events the additional wave breaking shear stress is significant and can't be neglected. The combined effect of both waves and storm surge resulted in the reported severe inundation that was the main killer of the 138,000 people in the Irrawaddy River delta of Myanmar in 2 May 2008. © 2010 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.