Minamisanriku

Geography

Minamisanriku is in the far northeastern corner of Miyagi Prefecture. Its coastline is part of the Sanriku Fukkō National Park, which stretches north all the way to Aomori Prefecture. The town is bordered to the north, west, and south by the Kitakami Mountains. About 70% of the area of the town is forested.

Neighboring municipalities

History

The area of present-day Minamisanriku was part of ancient Mutsu Province and came under the control of the Date clan of Sendai Domain during the Edo period, under the Tokugawa shogunate. The area has suffered from the effects of tsunami since ancient times, including the 869 Sanriku earthquake, and more recently during the 1896 Sanriku earthquake and the 1933 Sanriku earthquake.

The villages of Shizukugawa and Utatsu were established on June 1, 1889 with the establishment of the municipalities system. Shizukugawa was elevated to town status on October 31, 1895 and Utatsu on April 1, 1959.

The Great Chilean earthquake of 1960 triggered a tsunami that crossed the Pacific Ocean and struck the town of Shizugawa with a height of up to 2.8 metres (9.2 ft), causing extensive damage. As a result, two-story-high harbor walls were built by 1963, and residents held tsunami drills each year on the anniversary. To mark the 30th anniversary of the disaster in 1990, a bilingual Spanish-Japanese plaque was installed, with a message from President Patricio Aylwin of Chile, accompanied by a replica moai statue.

The harbor walls proved ineffective in the 2011 tsunami, which washed over four-story buildings.

The town was formed through a merger on October 1, 2005, when the towns of Shizugawa and Utatsu, both from Motoyoshi District, merged to form the new town of Minamisanriku.

The 2010 Chile earthquake caused a 1.3-metre (4.3 ft) tsunami in Minamisanriku.

2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster

Immediate aftermath accounts suggested 95 percent of the town was destroyed by the 2011 Japanese tsunami that followed the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. Only the tallest buildings remained, and roughly half the population was unaccounted for during the days following the disaster; only 9,700 people were confirmed alive and evacuated in the first week. In late June 2011, a total of 1,206 were counted as dead or missing, according to the Kahoku Shinpou.

The town had two evacuation centers where residents could go in the event of a tsunami, one on the southern headland overlooking the town, the other back from the center of the town. Although both were 20 meters above sea level, the tsunami inundated them and washed people away. At least 31 of the town's 80 designated evacuation sites were inundated by the tsunami.

According to an English teacher at the high school on a hill above the tsunami, "The entire town was simply swept away. It just no longer exists. There were around 7,000 of us on the hill that day. Perhaps a few thousand at the school on the hill opposite. But there are 17,000 in the town. All the others have gone." Since the schools were all on high ground, many children were orphaned. Survivors wrote "SOS" in white lettering, in the playing field of Shizugawa High School.

When the earthquake struck, the mayor, Jin Sato (佐藤仁), was talking at the town assembly about the much smaller tsunami caused by the March 9 foreshock of the March 11 earthquake. The three-story building of the town's Crisis Management Department (防災対策庁舎, Bōsai Taisaku Chōsha) which Sato escaped to was submerged by the tsunami. Out of the 130 people who worked at the town hall, Sato was one of 53 who reached the roof and one of 10 who survived. He returned to government affairs, founding the headquarters for disaster control at the Bayside Arena in Miyagi on March 13, 2011.

Shizugawa Hospital was one of the few major buildings that survived the tsunami. It was partly inundated, and 74 out of 109 patients died. Close to 200 people were rescued from the roof.

Miki Endo (遠藤未希), a 25-year-old employed by the town's Crisis Management Department to voice disaster advisories and warnings, was hailed in the Japanese news media as a heroine for sacrificing her life by continuing to broadcast warnings and alerts over the community loudspeaker system, in the Crisis Management Department's building, as the tsunami overwhelmed it. She was credited with saving many lives. The three-story headquarters of the department remained standing but was completely gutted, with only a red-colored steel skeleton remaining. In the aftermath of the disaster, Endo was missing and was later confirmed to have died. Photos show the roof of the building completely submerged at the height of the inundation, with some people clinging to the rooftop antenna.

International response

The town is the site of the first field hospital established by an outside nation offering assistance following the disaster. An initial team of five doctors from Israel set up a surgery in preparation for a larger team once needs were assessed. A 53-member delegation of medical personnel from the Home Front Command and the IDF’s Medical Corps opened a field hospital near Minamisanriku on March 29. The clinic included surgical, pediatrics and maternity wards, and an intensive care unit, pharmacy and laboratory along with 62 tons of medical supplies. The clinic was active in treating patients immediately upon opening.

On 23 April 2011, the Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, visited Minamisanriku.

Economy

Minamisanriku relies heavily on tourism and commercial fishing as mainstays of the local economy.

Education

Minamisanriku has five elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school.

Railway

Highway

Sister/friendship cities