- Onagawa, Miyagi
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Onagawa
女川町— Town — Location of Onagawa in Miyagi
OnagawaCoordinates: 38°26′17″N 141°27′00″E / 38.43806°N 141.45°ECoordinates: 38°26′17″N 141°27′00″E / 38.43806°N 141.45°E Country Japan Region Tōhoku Prefecture Miyagi District Oshika Area - Total 65.78 km2 (25.4 sq mi) Population (2003) - Total 11,186 - Density 170.1/km2 (440.4/sq mi) Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) Website Town of Onagawa Onagawa (女川町 Onagawa-chō) is a town located in Oshika District, Miyagi, Japan. The town was formed in 1926. The town takes pride in the fact that it still has beaches with "squeaking sand", which has apparently become rare in Japan due to human induced environmental changes.[1] Onagawa is a port town, and right at the intersection of two major ocean currents. It is also the location of a nuclear power plant, the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant.
As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 11,186 and a population density of 170.05 persons per km². The total area is 65.78 km².
Contents
2011 earthquake and tsunami
Onagawa after the tsunami
The town was heavily damaged in the 11 March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The tsunami reached 15 metres in height and swept one kilometre inland, destroying the town centre and leaving over 1000 people missing, with over 300 confirmed dead.[2][3] At least 12 of the town's 25 designated evacuation sites were inundated by the tsunami. The city had previously been hit and partially destroyed by the tsunami caused by 1960 Valdivia earthquake.[4]
In an incident widely reported in the Chinese media, Mitsuru Sato, managing director of Sato Suisan, a fish processing company in the town, gave his life ensuring that all the firm's workers, including 20 female Chinese resident trainees, had evacuated safely to higher ground.[5]
Transportation
The town has a ferry service to the sacred island of Kinkasan.
Train stations
Ferry Terminal
- Kinkasan
- Enoshima, via Izushima
Major roads
References
- ^ ONAGAWA Town Homepage
- ^ India rescue team pitches in, Japan Times 4 April 2011
- ^ NOAA Data
- ^ Kyodo News, "Tsunami hit more than 100 designated evacuation sites", Japan Times, 14 April 2011, p. 1.
- ^ Pulvers, Roger, "Japan's crises spark wide alarm and some unlikely sympathizers", Japan Times, 27 March 2011, p. 8.
External links
Media related to Onagawa, Miyagi at Wikimedia Commons- Onagawa official website (Japanese)
Categories:- Towns in Miyagi Prefecture
- Cities and towns devastated by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
- Populated places established in 1926
- Miyagi geography stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
