Would Makran tsunami skip Mumbai, India? No it would reach 8 minutes later than Ratnagiri

Abstract

Tsunami from Makran subduction zone in the northern Arabian sea are seen to arrive at Ratnagiri (16°56´24.00˝N, 72°40´12.00˝E) along the west coast of India 8 minutes earlier than Mumbai (18°59´24.00˝N,71°52´12.00˝E) in spite Ratnagiri being 244 km down south of Mumbai. This can give rise to a false signal and could be interpreted as tsunami skipped Mumbai and is traveling towards south. However, this advance information at Ratnagiri could be used for quick evacuation of densely populated coastal areas of Mumbai. Reasons for later arrival of tsunami at Mumbai is mainly due to a wide shelf of greater than 250 km whilst at Ratnagiri the shelf suddenly becomes half that of Mumbai. The importance of shelf width along the west coast of India which plays a great role in the arrival of the tsunami waves and the wave heights at different locations are conferred in the present study.