6 years on: Tsunami shelter projects show patchy progress

March 8, 2017

SENDAI, MIYAGI PREF- Projects to build or designate buildings and towers that provide shelter from tsunami have shown patchy progress in Miyagi Prefecture, with small municipalities lagging behind.

The importance of such facilities was highlighted in November last year, when a major earthquake off the neighboring prefecture of Fukushima unleashed tsunami that hit coastal areas in the Tohoku northeastern region.

The tsunami reached 1.4 meters tall in Sendai, the highest since the deadly tsunami that swept the region following a 9.0-magnitude temblor on March 11, 2011.

Some 1,300 people, mainly residents of urban areas including Sendai, evacuated to tsunami shelter buildings or towers at the time of the November quake, while in smaller municipalities, such as Minamisanriku, tsunami shelter projects have not progressed.

In Sendai, the capital of the prefecture, 660 people evacuated to 11 shelters, while in Ishinomaki, another major city in the prefecture, 580 people gathered at 32 shelters.

Tsunami shelters “are near residential areas and easy for elderly people to evacuate to,” said Akira Kato, leader of a neighborhood association in Sendai.

They may be temporary evacuation facilities but they are vital to locals, he said. Kato evacuated to a nearby tower with some 60 neighbors at the time of the November quake.

Most of the shelters are existing private buildings. Owners open up the buildings to evacuees under agreements with local municipalities.

So far, 74 buildings in seven out of the prefecture’s 15 coastal-area municipalities have been designated as evacuation shelters.

Municipalities caution that tsunami shelters are temporary evacuation facilities with minimum disaster supplies.

“Evacuees would need to move on to other places without help,” said an official at Ishinomaki.

In smaller municipalities such as Higashimatsushima and Minamisanriku, existing shelters were damaged six years ago and their restoration and reconstruction are underway.

But discussions on possible construction of new shelters have not progressed, because both municipalities have hills near coastal districts.

In Yamamoto and Watari, which have plains along the coast, small artificial hills were established as a temporary measure. Both are considering whether to build tsunami shelters, but are putting more focus on the establishment of new escape roads for now.

Sendai has built many evacuation facilities using grants from the central government designed to facilitate postdisaster reconstruction.

“Applications for grants don’t pass unless evacuation plans are clear,” a Sendai official said. “In that sense, the hurdle is high because a lot of time and manpower are required.” Jiji Press