The Great East Japan Earthquake Study Tour
27. Feb.2018

Overview of the Great East Japan earthquake
Kamaishi

The Great East Japan earthquake
occured:2011.3.11 14:46 M9.0
dead:
19,575
missing: 2,577
injured: 6,230

Source by Fire and Disaster Management Agency,2017

The coastal areas was suﬀered

epicentergreat damages from the tsunami.

Tokyothe main area
damaed by Tsunami

The damage of tsunami attack

Oofunato

RIKUZENTAKATAKESENNUMA
On the northern rias

http://www.coastal.jp/ttjt/index.php

coast, a gigantic tsunami
exceeding 30 meters hasbeen attacked.

On the other hand, thetsunami has penetrated
from the coast to

the inland by several

kilometers, although theplain area is about 10m, ﬂooding damage iscaused in a wide area.

The past Tsunami attack

Minami-sanriku

The coastal area has been suﬀering from the tsunami many times in the past.

Since entering the modern era, the coastal area was damaged four times by thetsunami. Every time the city was devastated by the tsunami, the urban formation hasbeen changed.

1896
37years

1933
27years

1960
51years

2011

Tsunami after Meiji Sanriku earthquake
dead: 21,953

houses drained by tsunami: 10,370

Tsunami after Showa Sanriku earthquake
dead: 1,823

missing: 1,140 houses drained by tsunami: 6,837

Tsunami after Chile earthquake
dead: 119

missing: 20

Tsunami after the Great East Japan earthquake

Ishinomaki

The main city damaged by
the Tsunami
Source by Google earth,2017

MachinakaRikuzentakata
station
Route 45

Hirota bay

700m

Tsunami inundation area by 3.11
Rikuzentakata IWATE

Source by Google earth,2017

Mt. Amba
Kesennumastation

Tsunami inundation area by 3.11
Kesennuma MIYAGI
Source by Google earth,2017

500m

Kesennuma bay

GeneralUrban formation history

Kesennuma city is located at the northeast end

Kesennuma City has expanded by reclaiming the innermost partof Miyagi prefecture, the main urban area is inof Kesennuma Bay. Because of that, the residential land is narrow,the innermost part of Kesennuma Bay, Amba-san

and there are also climatic conditions of strong winds, therefore(altitude 239 m) rises behind the city, which is thethe central urban area has been plagued by the fire than thebranch of the Kitakami Mountain Range. Okawatsunami. Actually, in the Meiji Sanriku Tsunami in 1896 and theriver flows in the southwest of the city area, and it

Showa Sanriku Tsunami in 1933, the central urban area was hardly

is poured into Kesennuma Bay.

damaged, but in the conflagration in 1915, 1,064 houses wereKesennuma was once called Kesema, and althoughburned and most of the city area was destroyed. Only 14 years

it is still disputed, there is a theory that it originates

later, in the next conflagration in 1929, 902 houses were burned,

from the Ainu language, hence it is the place ofagain the city area was reduced to ashes.

residence of the Ainu people (one of the indigenous

Kesennuma, which was later reborn after the reform of the block

people of Japan) in prehistoric times, and after

to prevent the fire, started development as one of Japan's mostthe Edo period, Kesennuma enjoyed prosperity by

famous port cities, becoming one of the designated port of thebonito fishing and sardine fishing. Immediately afterHome Ministry. and Kesennuma Station of the Ofunato line wasthe Meiji Restoration (1868), it was a small city withestablished in 1929.

a population of less than 5000, but the population

However, in the Chile earthquake-tsunami in 1960, there wasrapidly increased in the 1900s due to the rise oflarge flood damage, 2,096 households suffered in the whole city,

fisheries processing industry, and in 1980 the total

and there was also a flooding damage in the central urban areas.

population was 92,246. After that, the population

However, as the south Kisenuma station of the Kesennuma line

rapidly decreased due to the declining birthrate andopened, the lowland area near the coast was developed as thethe aging population and the impact of the Greaturban area around the 1970s in order to manage the rapidly

East Japan Earthquake, and the population as ofgrowing population due to the prosperity of Kesennuma Port. As

2015 is 64,988.

the bypass road passed through the lowland part, suburbanization

Currently, the major industries of Kesennuma City

advanced rapidly, and the lowland part, which was not originallyare fishery industry and tourism, and Kesennuma

inhabited area, became the center of the city. This urban formation

Port is one of the important fishing ports in Japan.

process resulted in a major damage by the tsunami of the GreatThe value of landings before the earthquake was

East Japan Great Earthquake.

No. 1 in the Tohoku region.

GeneralUrban formation history

Rikuzentakata city is located at the southern end

In Rikuzentakada city, the original urban area is originated fromof Iwate prefecture, the urban area is located on

the lodging town, so it is formed along the Imazumi road, in a place

the plain facing Hirota Bay. Behind the urban area,away from the coast. For that reason, the Meiji Sanriku tsunami in

Hikami-san with an altitude of 874 m rises, and the1896 and the Showa Sanriku tsunami in 1933 hardly damaged theKesen River flows in the southwest of the city area

city. But before the opening of the National Railways Ofunato line

and divides the urban area of Rikuzentakata.

in 1933, the installation position of the station became an object ofSince ancient times there was a gold mine calledthe dispute.

Tamayama-Kinzan in Rikuzentakata, and it is said

Originally the new station was scheduled to be installed at thethat gold was used also for The Great Buddha ofsouthern end of Takada Town, but there is a demand from theNara and Konjiki-do in Chusonji (both are listedneighboring Kesencho town to shift it towards Kesencho, and as

as UNESCO World Heritage Site). In addition, thea result, Takada station was established in the current position,center of Rikuzentakata flourished as a lodging town

at the boundary between the two towns and much closer to thebecause it was located at the junction of the main

coastline. Although the Chile earthquake-tsunami of 1960 did notroad in the Edo period, and since the daimyo officereach the urban area, the damage was greater compared with

was established in Imaizumi district, it prospered

the Meiji Sanriku Tsunami and Showa Sanriku Tsunami, the 683

as the center of the politics and economics of thehouseholds were affected and the damage to the paddy field wasKesen region. Although the largest number of thegreat, so the damage amounted to more than 2.5 billion yen. After

population was 32,833 in 1955, the population has

that, tsunami countermeasures are begun to implement, the tidecontinued to decrease after that, and due to theforest was restored, and two tide embankments were constructed.

earthquake disaster, the population as of 2015 isOn the other hand, the focus of urban planning has always been on

19,758.

the coast side of the old town since the late 1950s, moving the city

Rikuzentakata is one of the most devastated areas

office to the south and at the same time, the land readjustmentby the Great East Japan Earthquake.

program is executed in front of the station where the house was

1656 people deceased, which was 6.8% of the

only sparsely built before 1950s. The station street became apopulation at the time of the earthquake. Because

new shopping district after the program. Since then the urban

the main urban areas have been completelydevelopment was also proceeded on the south side of the railway,

annihilated by the tsunami, The old urban areas are

as a result, the urban area extended to the coastline side, resulting

all raised by the embankment in order to restore its

in a major damage in new urban areas by the tsunami of the Greatfunction.

East Japan Great Earthquake.

Appendix
The map of Kesennuma area

The map of Rikuzentakata area