Some of the recent tsunami and hurricanes , such as Tohoku tsunami in Japan ( 2011 ) and Hurricane Katrina in the United States ( 2005 ) , caused significant damage to the decks of coastal bridges and structures . Interaction of surface waves with coastal bridges is a complex problem , involving fluid-structure interaction , multi-phase fluids , wave breaking , and overtopping . These are of course in addition to the difficulties associated to the structural analysis . Ertekin and his students studied bridge failure mechanisms and possible mitigating solutions . They developed models used to assess the vulnerability of coastal bridges in USA to tsunami and storm surge and waves
Tohoku tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
R. Cengiz Ertekin