NATORI, Miyagi Prefecture--A coastal area here that was wiped out by the tsunami spawned by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake will be reborn as a memorial park to those who lost their lives and livelihoods in the disaster.
NATORI, Miyagi Prefecture--A coastal area here that was wiped out by the tsunami spawned by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake will be reborn as a memorial park to those who lost their lives and livelihoods in the disaster.
The city government of Natori, where more than 900 people lost their lives when the March 11, 2011, tsunami deluged the area, said the 3.2-hectare park will be constructed in the Yuriage district.
Construction of the memorial park, which will be funded by central government grants, will begin in fiscal 2017. A workshop attended by resident volunteers discussed and created an outline for the park. The city government will draw up a master plan based on the proposition, after which public opinion will be requested again before finalizing the plan.
The proposition outline calls for the park to be constructed around a cenotaph that was erected in 2014 to honor the tsunami victims and the iconic 6-meter-high Hiyoriyama mountain.
The cenotaph, which stands 8.4 meters high, the height of the tsunami, will be the center for a 2,200-square-meter circular arena for prayers. A grass-covered hill measuring about 3 to 4 meters high will be constructed along the coastal side of the park so that visitors can look over the seawall and view the vast ocean.
Hiyoriyama mountain, an artificial mound used to check the off-shore weather, will be kept as is and the memorial monument of the 1933 Sanriku tsunami will be re-erected after damages it suffered in March 2011 are repaired.
Hiyoriyama mountain is one of the few remaining recognizable landmarks in the tsunami-flattened Yuriage district.
In one corner of the park, the traces of residences and shops will be kept as a reminder of the great losses in Yuriage.
A facility where visitors can listen to talks by tsunami survivors will also be built in the park.
Apart from the memorial park, a flood disaster prevention center set up by the land ministry will house an exhibition displaying relics of the Great East Japan Earthquake. An archive for disaster prevention education will also be set up in a combined elementary and junior high school that will be built in the new town center of Natori.
“The Yuriage district itself is a poignant reminder of the 2011 tsunami damage and a place of learning for disaster prevention,” said Isoo Sasaki, the mayor of Natori. “We plan to coordinate these facilities, and hope that people will think about the different aspects of the tragic event.”