Potential technique for improving the survival of victims of tsunamis

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 13; no. 5; p. e0197498
• Main Authors: Kurisu, Akane, Suga, Hisami, Prochazka, Zdenek, Suzuki, Kojiro, Oguri, Kazumasa, Inoue, Tetsunori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 23.05.2018; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Airports; Biology and Life Sciences; Cold; Concrete; Disasters; Displaced persons; Drowning; Dummies; Earth science; Earth Sciences; Earthquakes; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Engineering and Technology; Experiments; Flotation; Health aspects; Humans; Life preservers; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methods; Physical Sciences; Ports; Prevention; Protective Devices; Survival; Survival Analysis; Survival skills; Survivors; Tsunamis; Underwater; Australia; United States > US; Japan
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197498

We investigated a method for surviving tsunamis that involved the use of personal flotation devices (PFDs). In our work, we succeeded in numerically demonstrating that the heads of all the dummies wearing PFDs remained on the surface and were not dragged underwater after the artificial tsunami wave hit them. In contrast, the heads of all the dummies not wearing PFDs were drawn underwater immediately; these dummies were subsequently entrapped in a vortex. The results of our series of experiments are important as a first step to preventing the tragedies caused by tsunamis.