Tsunami, 10 Years in the Rebuilding of a Town from Zero, Onagawa, Japan – Earthquake

Onagawa is a town located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. As of 30 April 2020, the town had an estimated population of 6,319, and a population density of 97 persons per km2 in 3,110 households. The total area of the town is 65.35 square kilometres (25.23 sq mi).

Onagawa was one of the most heavily damaged communities by the 11 March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The tsunami reached in excess of 15 metres (49 ft) in height and swept 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) inland, claiming 827 lives and destroying 70% of the buildings in the town.[9][10] At least 12 of the town’s 25 designated evacuation sites were inundated by the tsunami. The town’s hospital located on a hill was extensively flooded on the first floor at the maximum recorded wave height of 18 meters. Six reinforced concrete buildings in the town of up to 4 stories in height were overturned by the force of the surging water and debris and Onagawa Station and its nearby railway tracks were also destroyed.

The local community’s reconstruction efforts, in many cases led by Onagawa private sector business leaders, have outpaced many larger towns impacted by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Within days of the disaster privately owned construction machinery were used to clear roads, a wholesale fish market was relaunched on 1 April and a reconstruction advisory board was formed shortly thereafter. In the aftermath of the tsunami local residents successfully established small scale grocery stores and retail food facilities in a series of temporary market structures.

On 21 March 2015 the reconstructed Onagawa Station reopened marking the restoration of the entire Ishinomaki Line. The new station building features an integrated community center and public bathing facility on the upper floors.

Serving both the needs of the local community and attracting out of town visitors, a pedestrianized shopping promenade called Seapal Pia was opened in December 2015.

Five years after the tsunami many Onagawa residents continue to live in short-term temporary accommodation. After extensive landscaping, new residential housing is being relocated at higher elevations on nearby hillsides and leftover soil is being used to raise industrial and commercial sections closer to the water an average of 4.5 metres (15 ft) above sea level.