Relocation After Tsunamis in the Sanriku Area and the Condition of Fishing Villages Two Years After the 2011 Great East Japan Tsunami - Post-Tsunami Hazard: Reconstruction and Restoration - page 49

(i) Defensive structures, including coastal dikes and seawalls; (ii) Town planning,
including relocation to high ground, buffer zones, control forests and evacuation
routes; and (iii) Disaster prevention systems, including tsunami warnings,
tsunami evacuation and memorial events.

4.3 Relocation and Recovery in the Study Areas

4.3.1 Tadakoshi Village, Kesennuma City

Area map of Tadakoshi village is shown in Fig. 4.2 . A tsunami with a peak height of
8.3 m hit Tadakoshi village in 1896, causing 237 deaths and destroying 51 houses
( Meiji University 2011 ). Although there was a plan for moving to high ground, the
villagers instead only constructed evacuation routes because of the mountain's hard
foundation rock (Cabinet offi ce 2011b ). A tsunami in 1933 with a peak height of
6.6 m reportedly resulted in ten deaths, 135 minor/moderately damaged houses and
39 majorly damaged or washed away houses (Meiji University 2011 ). After this
event, 32 households were individually relocated. Relocated areas after the 1933
tsunami were outside the inundation limit of the 1933 tsunami. However, most of the
areas were not far or high enough to avoid damage from the 16.3 m high 2011

Fig. 4.2 Area map of Tadakoshi village (Cabinet offi ce 2011b ). The green line is the inundation
limit of the 1933 tsunami. The green box is the relocation area after the 1933 tsunami. The red line
is the inundation limit of the 2011 tsunami. The red area is the building damage area (Source:
Cabinet Offi ce, Government of Japan)