Wave induced coastal flooding along the southwest coast of India during tropical cyclone Tauktae

The coastal flood during the tropical cyclone Tauktae, 2021, at Chellanam coast, Kerala, India, has invited wide attention as the wave overtopping severely affected coastal properties and livelihood. We used a combination of WAVEWATCHIII and XBeach to study the coastal inundation during high waves. The effect of low-frequency waves and the rise in the coastal water level due to wave setup caused the inundation at Chellanam, even during low tide with negligible surge height. Wave setup raised the water level at the coast with steep slopes to more than 0.6 m and peaked during low tide, facilitating wave breaking at the nearshore region. The coastal regions adjacent to these steep slopes were subjected to severe inundation. The combined effect of long and short waves over wave setup formed extreme wave runups that flooded inland areas. At gently sloping beaches, the longwave component dominated and overtopped the seawalls and damaged households along the shoreline. The study emphasizes the importance of longwave and wave setup and its interaction with nearshore bathymetry during the high wave. The present study shall lead to the development of a coastal inundation prediction system for the low-lying hot spots using the combination of WAVEWATCHIII and XBeach models.