Finkl, C.W.; Pelinovsky, E., and Cathcart, R.B., 2012. A review of potential tsunami impacts to the Suez Canal.

Tsunamis in the eastern Mediterranean and Red Seas, induced by earthquakes and/or volcanic activity, pose potential hazards to shipping and fixed harbor infrastructure within the Suez Canal. Potential vulnerabilities of the Suez Canal to possible tsunami impacts are reviewed by reference to geological, historical, archeoseismological, and anecdotal data. Tsunami catalogues and databases compiled by earlier researchers are perused to estimate potential return periods for tsunami events that could directly affect the Suez Canal and operational infrastructures. Analysis of these various records indicates a centurial return period, or multiples thereof, for long-wave repetition that could generally impact the Nile Delta, whereas numerical models indicate a multidecadal frequency. It is estimated that tsunami waves 2 m high would begin to break about 4 to 10 km down-canal, whereas a 10-m wave break would occur about 0.5 to 3 km into the Canal.