Onagawa – Year 3 after the Tsunami

I visited Onagawa which was mostly destroyed by the Tsunami on March 11 2011. The area still has long way to go.

This picture illustrates the commitment of the community for the reconstruction of the city of roughly 11.000 people before the Tsunami. At the same time it shows the ruin of “Bank 17” which was turned to the side by the Tsunami.

Bank 17 has a story to it. The local head of the bank asked his colleagues up to the roof of the bank, which collapsed when the tsunami hit. 13 people perished. Only 30 meter up the hill next to the bank they would have been on save ground. The tsunami only slightly flooded the hospital located on top of the hill. The following pictures show the devastated bay of Onagawa with the bank in the center and the hill with the hospital in the middle. The force of the Tsunami and its altitude can be imagined looking at the deformed steal fences on the side of the street leading upwards. Family and friends of the victims of “Bank 17” improvised a small place for rememberance.

The desaster of Onagawa is well documented on youtube.The hill with the hospital can be seen on the following clip.

Onagawa City submerged in Tsunami #2 – YouTube.

More the 1.000 people lost their life in Onagawa. Today the city has registered 7000 citizens, around 4.000 of them are living in areas at higher altitude which were not affected by the Tsunami. 3000 are still living in shelters in the surrounding areas. I met a man who decided to move away. He bought a house further off, financed by compensation he received as a Tsunami victim and by the lump sum he got from Coca-Cola in Sendai when he retired in 2011. He did not see much hope for a rapid recovery. Huge efforts are made to adapt the landscape in order to make the city area safe against future disasters. From the shore the ground is slowly elevated to 4 and then up to 8 meter above sea-level. Completion is expected for 2017. Who will wait until then without a job ? The picture shows the efforts undertaken. The former police office, also turned to the side, will remain as a monument. Bank 17 will be scrapped.

On my trip I continued to a small fishing village called Yoriiso where 12 people out of a community of 350 died. The shore line is very small, most of the buildings, being uphill, were safe. Today the local fishery is back and working out of containers. No private housing will be allowed on sea-level. Construction is starting soon on land earmarked for private housing. With funds from the German Red Cross a community center was build. It serves as a meeting point for this and three other small villages nearby.

A small sign on the street shows the local protest against the nuclear power plant of Onagawa. Not very impressive. People here have apparently other concerns right now. The power plant of Onagawa was in the news together with Fukushima because the Tsunami also hit this nuclear plant. Luckily it was located 14 meters above sea-level and experienced only a short power cut. You can not come close to the plant but visit the information center, rather deserted in these days. The model shows the location of the power plant. Still in the mindset of the glorious days the illustration in form of a globe indicating the countries the energy supply is based on, all suppliers of uranium. And last but not least the little cute doll of nuclear energy, the mascot of the Onagawa power plant. May it be of help in the future.