Enhancing tsunami resilience and evacuation strategies: A case study of coastal disaster preparedness and heritage protection of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina area

Abstract

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) unanimously agreed upon the successful implementation of SDG 14, which aims to preserve and sustainably utilize oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. This necessitates collaborative efforts on a global scale to protect, conserve, restore, and sustainably manage coastal ecosystems. In order to successfully implement this SDG, communities in coastal countries need to sustainably foster their response capacities and preparedness in the face of coastal multi-hazards. This can be achieved by establishing guidelines to mitigate, prepare for, and respond to tsunamis as well as by working with those communities to help them meet these guidelines and ultimately become ʻTsunami Readyʼ. This can be realized by raising awareness and increasing resilience amongst those communities and by devising preparedness strategies as required by Ocean Decade Challenge 6. This study investigates tsunami resilience and evacuation strategies along Alexandria’s coastlines. It specifically focuses on the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s area, which is a site of immense historical, educational and residential significance. In this study, we leverage the results of tsunami modeling, coupled with advanced remote sensing and GIS techniques to identify risk zones, and design evacuation plans highlighting critical areas that require immediate attention during disaster preparedness. The study also underscores the importance of integrating scientific methods into urban planning to safeguard lives, heritage and vital infrastructure.