RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate Prefecture--The sole pine tree to survive the tsunami at a beauty spot here is being re-erected as an enduring monument after intensive preservation work.
RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate Prefecture--The sole pine tree to survive the tsunami at a beauty spot here is being re-erected as an enduring monument after intensive preservation work.
On March 2, a trailer truck delivered a 14-meter section of trunk, which a crane placed onto the tree's base and roots. The sections have been chemically treated and strengthened with hidden structural supports.
The branches will be assembled from March 6, and the "miracle" tree will then be standing defiant once more over the disaster site.
The tree is the only one here that withstood the force of the tsunami in March 2011. The surging waves flattened or swept away thousands of other pines and devastated what had been celebrated as a local beauty spot.
However, the tree itself later died, unable to cope with the saline soil created by the seawater. It was felled for long-term preservation.
The trunk section tapers from about 1 meter in diameter at the base to 80 centimeters at the top. Preservation work included drilling out a central bore and inserting a carbon-fiber pole to give it strength in years ahead.
The branchless entity currently stands about 18 meters tall, but when complete will be 27 meters high.
Work is expected to wind up around March 10. A completion ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on March 22.
The city plans to set up a dais for flowers at the site, which will later be opened to the public.