Field Surveys and Numerical Simulation of the 2018 Typhoon Jebi: Impact of High Waves and Storm Surge in Semi-enclosed Osaka Bay, Japan

Abstract

Typhoon Jebi made landfall in Japan in 2018 and hit Osaka Bay on September 4, causing severe damage to Kansai area, Japan’s second largest economical region. We conducted field surveys around the Osaka Bay including the cities of Osaka, Wakayama, Tokushima, Hyogo, and the island of Awaji-shima to evaluate the situation of these areas immediately after Typhoon Jebi struck. Jebi generated high waves over large areas in these regions, and many coasts were substantially damaged by the combined impact of high waves and storm surges. The Jebi storm surge was the highest in the recorded history of Osaka. We used a storm surge–wave coupled model to investigate the impact caused by Jebi. The simulated surge level was validated with real data acquired from three tidal stations, while the wave simulation results were verified with observed data from four wave monitoring stations. The high accuracy of the model demonstrates the usefulness of numerical simulations to estimate the heights of storm surges and wind waves at specific locations, especially where no monitoring stations are available. According to the simulation, the significant wave height was nearly 13 m in the entrance of Kii Strait between Tokushima and Wakayama and 4 m inside Osaka Bay. During the field survey, we encountered collapsed sea dykes, which were obviously damaged by high waves. In fact, the storm surge reached only 1.7 m above the normal tidal level at Kobe, Hyogo, which was not extremely high. Hence, the combination of storm surge and high waves can explain the extent of destruction in Hyogo, such as the failure of an inland floodgate and a stranded large vessel over the breakwater, which were observed during the field survey. We emphasize the importance of adequate coastal designs against high waves even in semi-enclosed bays, as they seem to have been underestimated when the typhoon disaster risk management was conducted.