41 structures in Tohoku preserved as witnesses to March 2011 disasters

Mar 05, 2018 | News On Japan

Mar 05, 2018 (Japan Times) - At least 41 structures in three prefectures in Tohoku have been preserved to commemorate the damage caused by the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters, a tally shows.

The structures spread across 23 municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures are being saved in an effort to pass on the memories of what transpired to future generations.

The tally, compiled by Jiji Press, shows there are 16 such structures in Iwate, 13 in Miyagi and 12 in Fukushima. By municipality, the city of Rikuzentakata in Iwate has the largest number at five.

Most are public facilities including schools, coastal levees, police boxes, police cars, city offices, bridges and public housing.

The rest include private facilities, such a hotel and part of a railway station, that were preserved using public money.

The Kamaishi Municipal Government in Iwate dismantled its damaged disaster control center, though pieces of its walls and clocks have been set aside. They will be put on display at a memorial facility to be completed next year.

In Otsuchi, also in Iwate, a municipal ordinance was passed to collect funds for a project to replicate a sightseeing boat that was left on the roof of a hotel by tsunami and later removed.

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