Abstract: The 26th December 2004 Tsunami that wreaked destruction in the East coast of Tamil Nadu, India, immediate recovery of coastal society and infrastructure is needed to restore the livelihood of local peoples. The factors leading to higher exposure to the Tsunami is essential for improving coastal management should be thoroughly understood in order to rebuild infrastructure which are near shore in a safer way. Important factor for an effective warning system are coastal vulnerability assessment and risk modeling and they contribute significantly in the reduction of risk. A successful hazard mitigation planning operation depends upon the sufficient scientific knowledge on the relative vulnerability of the houses in a hazard prone area. Using an enhanced version of Papathoma Tsunami Vulnerability Assessment Model, a relative vulnerability index of buildings in the coastal area that are prone to coastal hazards such as the Tsunami and storm surges were calculated. A combination of structural vulnerability of buildings and the water level during the hazard and using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for weighting the various impact elements in order to limit concerns about subjective ranking of elements in the original model are used in the calculation of relative vulnerability index. The model was tested using the data collected from coast of Cuddalore. In order to take a vulnerability assessment it is vital to list out all vulnerable parameters in the study area pertaining to its population, socio-economic aspects and built environment. A list of impact elements for each of these parameters were identified. Widespread field survey was carried out and data on the impact element were collected from the local people. The locations of every household was mapped using an Arc PAD and questionnaire was used to collect data on the impact elements identified for calculating the relative vulnerability index of buildings in villages. Using the Papathoma Tsunami vulnerability assessment model the relative vulnerability index of individual buildings in coastal areas of Cuddalore was calculated which takes into account the indices on exposure vulnerability, structural vulnerability and protection. Large scale maps showing the relative vulnerability indices of buildings in the hazard prone areas would be of immense use in relief and mitigation operations.