Potential Tsunami Impact to Coastal Vegetation and Geological Landscape at Pantai Batu Rakit, Kuala Terengganu

The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of a potential tsunami on the coastline of Pantai Batu Rakit, Kuala Terengganu originating from the Manila Trench with the aid of wave simulation models. The coastal vegetation and geological factors of the study area are taken into consideration during the generation of the models using the TUNA-M2 software. Many studies have been conducted to predict and simulate potential tsunamis around the globe, including Malaysia as more evidence shows that the early theory on Malaysia being free from earthquakes are misleading, especially since the 2004 Indian-Ocean Earthquake. Throughout this study, a fieldtrip is conducted to study the geological landscape of Pantai Batu Rakit. From the information gathered, seven tsunami wave simulations are generated, each originating from the six different fault zone of the Manila Trench and one originating from all faults. The model with highest maximum waves will be further analysed using a tsunami run-up and inundation model. As a result, the models indicate that the tsunami waves will hit the coastline of Kuala Terengganu by 11 hours. The tsunami model originating from all faults simultaneously, shows the highest maximum wave height of 0.143m with a run-up height of 0.5m and an inundation distance of 4m. Therefore, it can be concluded that the tsunami has low impact on the coast of Pantai Batu Rakit. In addition, the worst case scenario in consideration of other external variables was modelled and a maximum wave height of 1.5m, a run-up height of 2m and an inundation distance of 14m were found. In this simulation, the Pantai Batu Rakit coastline will be flooded and areas near the coastline have a high risk of getting impacted whereas areas with coastal vegetation have a lower risk of impact.