Minamisanriku, Miyagi
Encyclopedia
, also spelled Minami Sanriku, is a resort town
on a coastline of wooded islands and mountainous inlets. The town is in Motoyoshi District, Miyagi
, Japan
. It has an area of 163.74 square kilometres (63.2 sq mi), and as of October 1, 2004 the population of the area was 19,170. 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.
Minamisanriku was largely destroyed by the Japanese 2011 tsunami
, with most buildings swept away by waves of 16 metres (52.5 ft) or more, and over half the town's population missing and almost certainly dead. If and when confirmed, the loss of life in this one small town would form a very significant percentage of the total nationwide Japanese death toll from the tsunami.
The town had two evacuation centres where residents could go in the event of a tsunami, one on the southern headland overlooking the town, the other back from the centre of the town. However, although both were 20 metres 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 local high school located 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 of the town, 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 which Sato escaped to was submerged by the tsunami, and out of the 130 people who worked at the town hall, Sato was one of only 30 who reached the roof and one of only 10 who survived. He endured the torrent under the tsunami for about 3 minutes. He returned to government affairs, founding the headquarters for disaster control at the Bayside Arena on March 13, 2011.
Shizugawa hospital was one of the few major buildings that survived the tsunami, but was partly inundated, and 74 out of 109 patients died. Close to 200 people were rescued from the roof of the building.
Miki Endo (远藤未希), a 25 year old employee of the town's Crisis Management Department, was hailed in the Japanese news media as a heroine for continuing to broadcast warnings and alerts over a community loudspeaker system as the tsunami came in. She was credited with saving many lives. The three-storey 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 persons clinging to the rooftop antenna.
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 April 23, 2011, the Prime Minister of Australia
Julia Gillard
visited Minami Sanriku.
To mark the 30th anniversary 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 plaque survived the 2011 tsunami.
The 2010 Chile earthquake
caused a 1.3 metres (4.3 ft) tsunami in Minami Sanriku.
The Kesennuma Line
includes the following stops: Rikuzen-Togura
, Shizugawa
, Shizuhama
, Utatsu
, and Rikuzen-Minato
. Major roads include Route 45 and Route 398
.
Towns of Japan
A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...
on a coastline of wooded islands and mountainous inlets. The town is in Motoyoshi District, Miyagi
Motoyoshi District, Miyagi
is a district located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.As of the Karakuwa merger but with 2010 population estimates, the district has an estimated population of 17,296 and a population density of 106 persons per km²...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It has an area of 163.74 square kilometres (63.2 sq mi), and as of October 1, 2004 the population of the area was 19,170. The town was formed through a merger on October 1, 2005, when the towns of Shizugawa
Shizugawa, Miyagi
was a town located in Motoyoshi District, Miyagi, Japan.On October 1, 2005, Shizugawa was merged with the town of Utatsu to form the new town of Minamisanriku, and no longer exists as an independent municipality....
and Utatsu
Utatsu, Miyagi
was a town located in Motoyoshi District, Miyagi, Japan.On October 1, 2005, Utatsu was merged with the town of Shizugawa to form the new town of Minamisanriku, and no longer exists as an independent municipality....
, both from Motoyoshi District
Motoyoshi District, Miyagi
is a district located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.As of the Karakuwa merger but with 2010 population estimates, the district has an estimated population of 17,296 and a population density of 106 persons per km²...
, merged to form the new town of Minamisanriku.
Minamisanriku was largely destroyed by the Japanese 2011 tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
, with most buildings swept away by waves of 16 metres (52.5 ft) or more, and over half the town's population missing and almost certainly dead. If and when confirmed, the loss of life in this one small town would form a very significant percentage of the total nationwide Japanese death toll from the tsunami.
2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster
95 percent of the town was destroyed by the 2011 Japanese tsunami that followed the 2011 Tohuku earthquake. Only the tallest buildings remain and an estimated 9,500 people are missing, roughly half the population. 9,700 people are confirmed alive and evacuated.The town had two evacuation centres where residents could go in the event of a tsunami, one on the southern headland overlooking the town, the other back from the centre of the town. However, although both were 20 metres 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 local high school located 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
SOS
SOS is the commonly used description for the international Morse code distress signal...
" in white lettering, in the playing field of Shizugawa High school.
When the earthquake struck, the mayor of the town, Jin Sato (佐藤仁), was talking at the town assembly about the (much smaller) tsunami caused by the March 9 foreshock
Foreshock
A foreshock is an earthquake that occurs before a larger seismic event and is related to it in both time and space. The designation of an earthquake as foreshock, mainshock or aftershock is only possible after the event....
of the March 11 earthquake. The three-story building of the town's which Sato escaped to was submerged by the tsunami, and out of the 130 people who worked at the town hall, Sato was one of only 30 who reached the roof and one of only 10 who survived. He endured the torrent under the tsunami for about 3 minutes. He returned to government affairs, founding the headquarters for disaster control at the Bayside Arena on March 13, 2011.
Shizugawa hospital was one of the few major buildings that survived the tsunami, but was partly inundated, and 74 out of 109 patients died. Close to 200 people were rescued from the roof of the building.
Miki Endo (远藤未希), a 25 year old employee of the town's Crisis Management Department, was hailed in the Japanese news media as a heroine for continuing to broadcast warnings and alerts over a community loudspeaker system as the tsunami came in. She was credited with saving many lives. The three-storey 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 persons clinging to the rooftop antenna.
International response
The town is the site of the first field hospitalField hospital
A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...
established by an outside nation offering assistance following the disaster. An initial team of five doctors from Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
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 April 23, 2011, the Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
visited Minami Sanriku.
1960 tsunami
The Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960 triggered a tsunami that crossed the Pacific Ocean and struck the then town of Shizugawa with a height of up to 2.8 metres (9.2 ft), causing what was by normal standards considered extensive damage. As a result, two-storey-high harbor walls were built by 1963, and residents held tsunami drills each year on the anniversary. The harbor walls were ineffective in the 2011 tsunami, which washed over four-storey buildings.To mark the 30th anniversary in 1990, a bilingual Spanish-Japanese plaque was installed, with a message from President Patricio Aylwin
Patricio Aylwin
Patricio Aylwin Azócar was the first president of Chile after its return to democratic rule in 1990, following the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.- Early life :...
of Chile, accompanied by a replica moai
Moai
Moai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...
statue. The plaque survived the 2011 tsunami.
The 2010 Chile earthquake
2010 Chile earthquake
The 2010 Chile earthquake occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February 2010, at 03:34 local time , having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking lasting for about three minutes. It ranks as the sixth largest earthquake ever to be recorded by a...
caused a 1.3 metres (4.3 ft) tsunami in Minami Sanriku.
Transportation
Kesennuma Line
The is a local rail line in Japan. Part of the East Japan Railway Company system, it runs from Maeyachi Station in Ishinomaki, Miyagi to Kesennuma Station in Kesennuma, Miyagi...
includes the following stops: Rikuzen-Togura
Rikuzen-Togura Station
Rikuzen-Togura Station is located on the JR Kesennuma Line in Minamisanriku, Miyagi.The station was destroyed by the 2011 tsunami and surrounding railway track was washed away....
, Shizugawa
Shizugawa Station
Shizugawa Station is located on the JR Kesennuma Line in Minamisanriku, Miyagi.It was destroyed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami....
, Shizuhama
Shizuhama Station
Shizuhama Station is located on the JR Kesennuma Line in Minamisanriku, Miyagi.The blue-roofed station platform remained standing after the 2011 tsunami, however large sections of the adjacent railway bridge and track collapsed.- External links : video of a train trip from Utatsu Station to...
, Utatsu
Utatsu Station
Utatsu Station is located on the JR Kesennuma Line in Utatsu, Miyagi.The blue-roofed station platform remained standing after the 2011 tsunami, however the adjacent railway bridge and track collapsed.-Surrounding area:...
, and Rikuzen-Minato
Rikuzen-Minato Station
Rikuzen-Minato Station is located on the JR Kesennuma Line in Minamisanriku, Miyagi.It was destroyed by the 2011 Japanese tsunami.- External links : video of a train trip from Motoyoshi Station to Utatsu Station in 2009, passing through Rikuzen-Koizumi Station, Kurauchi Station, and...
. Major roads include Route 45 and Route 398
Route 398 (Japan)
National Route 398 is a national highway of Japan connecting Ishinomaki, Miyagi and Yurihonjō, Akita in Japan, with a total length of 273.6 km ....
.
External links
Videos
- video showing aerial view, before and after:
- video of tsunami, shot from Shizugawa High School (志津川高校):
- another video from a similar vantage point as above, showing a wider-angle view of some parts:
- video of tsunami, shot from Shizugawa Junior High School (志津川中学校):
- video shot from a train (facing east) in 2009, stopping at Shizugawa StationShizugawa StationShizugawa Station is located on the JR Kesennuma Line in Minamisanriku, Miyagi.It was destroyed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami....
and then proceeding to Rikuzen-Togura StationRikuzen-Togura StationRikuzen-Togura Station is located on the JR Kesennuma Line in Minamisanriku, Miyagi.The station was destroyed by the 2011 tsunami and surrounding railway track was washed away....
on the Kesennuma LineKesennuma LineThe is a local rail line in Japan. Part of the East Japan Railway Company system, it runs from Maeyachi Station in Ishinomaki, Miyagi to Kesennuma Station in Kesennuma, Miyagi...
. Satellite photos (e.g., in Google Maps) and aftermath videos show that virtually every building visible (except the very largest white buildings in the background) in the first three minutes, and in the final minute, were washed away in the 2011 tsunami, as well as the train track and infrastructure and both stations; buildings and track in the middle part were undamaged.- the same train trip in the opposite direction, in 2010:
- tsunami aftermath videos (driving around in the town): #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11
- video shot inside Shizugawa Hospital, showing tsunami damage reaching as high as the fourth floor:
- News Video of Tsunami Destroying Minamisanriku The Telegraph, UK news outlet
- Video of Tsunami Aftermath in Minamisanriku "Some Kind of Armageddon", Channel 4 News, UK