- Minamisōma, Fukushima
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Minamisōma
南相馬市— City — Minamisoma City Office
FlagLocation of Minamisōma in Fukushima Coordinates: 37°38′N 140°57′E / 37.633°N 140.95°ECoordinates: 37°38′N 140°57′E / 37.633°N 140.95°E Country Japan Region Tōhoku Prefecture Fukushima Government – Mayor Katsunobu Sakurai Area – Total 398.50 km2 (153.9 sq mi) Population (May 1, 2011) – Total 68,745 – Density 172.5/km2 (446.8/sq mi) Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) City symbols - Tree Japanese Zelkova - Flower Sakura - Bird Skylark - Fish Salmon - Others Insect: Firefly Phone number 0244-22-2111 Address 2-27 Motomachi, Haramachi-ku, Minamisōma-shi, Fukushima-ken
975-8686Website Minamisōma City Minamisōma (南相馬市 Minamisōma-shi ) is a city located in Fukushima, Japan. As of May 1, 2011, the city had an estimated population of 68,745[1]. The city was founded on January 1, 2006, by merging with Haramachi, Odaka, and Kashima.
2011 earthquake and tsunami
Minamisōma was partially inundated by the tsunami which resulted from the Tōhoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, and suffered heavy damage. As of 9 April 2011, 400 residents were confirmed dead, with 1,100 missing.[2]
Minamisōma is about 25 kilometres (16 miles) north of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, the site of the nuclear accident that followed the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Much of the city lies within the mandated evacuation zone near the plant, and thus most of the residents were forced to leave.[2] Approximately a week after the earthquake Minamisōma was in the news again as the town's mayor Katsunobu Sakarai asserts his people have been ‘abandoned’, in the wake of orders for all remaining residents to stay in their homes inside the exclusion zone around the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.[3][4]
In July beef from Minamisōma was found to be contaminated with radioactive cesium above the legal limit, according to the Daily Yomiuri.[1]
External links
Media related to Minamisōma, Fukushima at Wikimedia Commons
- City of Minamisōma (Japanese)
- Nakano Monument
Response to YouTube video for help:
- Japanese City’s Cry Resonates Around the World - New York Times, April 6, 2011
- Rebuilding Minami Soma - October 22, 2011
References
- ^ "Estimated population May 1, 2011". Official Fukushima Prefecture website. http://www.pref.fukushima.jp/toukei/html/01/m-jinko/22_23_3_4doutai.xls. Retrieved 29 July 2011.(Japanese)
- ^ a b Associated Press, "Eerie quiet reigns in evacuation zone", Japan Times, 9 April 2011, p. 4.
- ^ David Jones (18 March 2011). "Mayor of Town Near Fukushima Nuclear Plant Claims People Abandoned". Dail Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367208/Mayor-town-near-Fukushima-nuclear-plant-claims-people-abandoned.html. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ John M. Glionna (March 31, 2011). "Anger and abandonment in a Japanese nuclear ghost town". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-ghost-town-20110401,0,1844289,full.story. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
Fukushima Prefecture Cities Districts Regions 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Aftermath • Humanitarian response · Foreshocks and aftershocksAffected areas Geology: Japan Trench • Pacific Plate • North American Plate • Okhotsk Plate • Honshu Island (Oshika Peninsula) / Pacific Ocean
Cities and towns severely damaged:- Tōhoku Region [Iwate Prefecture (Kamaishi – Miyako – Ōfunato – Ōtsuchi – Rikuzentakata – Yamada) | Miyagi Prefecture (Higashimatsushima – Ishinomaki – Kesennuma – Kurihara – Minamisanriku – Sendai) | Fukushima Prefecture (Iwaki – Minamisōma – Ōkuma – Sōma)]
- Kantō Region [Ibaraki Prefecture (Hitachinaka – Itako – Kashima – Kitaibaraki – Ōarai) | Chiba Prefecture (Asahi – Chōshi – Ichihara – Urayasu)]
- Hokkaido [Oshima Subprefecture (Hakodate)]
Affected infrastructure Ichihara refinery • Fujinuma Dam • Ōarai-Kashima Line • Sendai Airport • Tōhoku Shinkansen • Joban Line (Shinchi Station) • Senseki Line • Kesennuma LineNuclear accidents Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant • Timeline • International reaction • Japanese reaction • Radiation effects • Fukushima 50) • Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant (Timeline) • Onagawa plant • Tōkai plant • Rokkasho plantAftershocks Miyagi, Japan (7.1, 7 April) • Fukushima, Japan (6.6, 11 April)People Fundraisers Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders • Download to Donate: Tsunami Relief • Fight and Smile • Songs for JapanOther Impact on video game industry • Operation TomodachiSee also: Japanese earthquakes · Seismicity of the Sanriku coast · Historic tsunamis · Nuclear power in Japan, section Seismicity · Nuclear and radioactive incidentsThis Fukushima Prefecture location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.