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 54

Fig. 4.8 Left : View of the Millennium Hope Hills from the ground. Right : View of the Millennium
Hope Hills from the top

there will be no more residences in the lower area. This is still a typical issue for
most areas, and discussion between local governments and local residents are very
important during the reconstruction process. However, Iwanuma city is an example
of a city that successfully constructed a seawall. In fact, the city offi cially started a
project in June 2013, called “Millennium Hope Hills” (Fig. 4.8 -left). The project
involves building 15 hills as seawalls approximately 8 m high around the city using
tsunami debris as fi ller and various kinds of trees on the surface. Therefore, behind
small concrete seawalls, there will be 8 m high nature-like embankments in front of
the city (Fig. 4.8 -right) (Iwanuma city 2013 ). Due to the landscape and the hills'
added function as a tsunami memorial and recreational park during non-tsunami
times, the project has garnered strong support from local residents and volunteers
and often appears in the media. Such a successful project that clearly presents the
city's consideration of the environment and landscape may be applied in other areas.

4.4.2 Comparison Among the Three Villages

and Other Areas in Miyagi Prefecture

Although the three villages are similar in terms of their decision on relocating to
high ground, there are some differences that can be mentioned in this section. There
was no relocation record in Niranohama but according to the interviews, the reloca-
tion after the 2011 tsunami seems to be the fi rst time. However, both Tadakoshi and
Yagawa had experience in relocation after the 1933 tsunami. In addition, (MLIT
2012 ) mentioned that there was one house that relocated to high ground after the
1896 tsunami in Yagawa where the rest and the whole village of Tadakoshi did not.
After the 2011 tsunami, Kawakura faced the land occupation problem as mentioned
in the previous section but Niranohama could solve their relocation issue by the
group relocation with another nearby village. According to the interview, fi shermen
in both Niranohama and Yagawa said that they will surely evacuate to high ground