Storm-Surge Simulation in the South China Sea Region: A Numerical Study

Storm-surge flooding is a serious concern along the coastal regions of many countries in the South China Sea region which is often threatened by typhoons and super typhoons. The destruction of life and property can be minimised if the surges could be predicted in advance, thus allowing effective warnings in the threatened areas. In view of this, we have developed a vertically- integrated numerical storm-surge prediction model for the South China Sea region. The model has been applied for the simulation of storm surges associated with four typhoons/super typhoons which have struck the coasts of southern China, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam. The model-computed surges are found to be in broad agreement with the available observations/estimates.