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Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), 2021 Vol.130 No.2

2021 Vol.130 No.2

Recording Events Surrounding the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster as a Reference for Other Regions and the Future

Photographs of the tsunami flooding the city and the nuclear power plant accident are shown as symbols of the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster, a huge and complex catastrophe.
 Tsunami spilling over the embankment (top): The widespread and large-scale tsunami was an important cause of the disaster. According to a video analsis by the first explainer, the water level at the mouth of the Hei River in Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture fell about 1 m due to backwash, and part of the riverbed was visible 31 minutes after the earthquake. Subsequently, the leading wave of the tsunami traveled from Miyako Bay up the Hei River, gradually raising the water level. Thirty-seven minutes after the earthquake, the tsunami spilled over the 3.5 m-high embankment (crest height about 5 m (TP)) and started to inundate the urban area near the city hall. The tsunami continued to flow into the city and reached the highest water level of about 7 m (TP) at the embankment (photo middle) and about 6 m (TP) near the building (photo left), respectively, 42 minutes after the earthquake. (Photo by Miyako City on March 11, 2011)
 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and surrounding area (bottom): The toxicity of radioactive materials released by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant persists. The disaster structure in Fukushima Prefecture differs from that in Iwate and other prefectures where the tsunami was the main cause of the disaster. Interim storage facilities are located a few kilometers from the power plant (photo top), and the area is off limits to the general public. Flexible container bags (black items, photo bottom) containing radioactive material brought from Fukushima Prefecture and sorting facilities (white buildings, photo middle) can be seen. The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum, which opened in September 2020, is located about 4 km north of the plant. (Photo by Masayuki Seto, taken on February 8, 2021 with a drone flying 124 meters above the museum)


(Explanation: Masaki IWAFUNE and Masayuki SETO)



Special Issue: Local Records of Natural Disaster Events:
A Wealth of Spatiotemporal Information for Future Use

Overview of the Special Issue
 “Local Records of Natural Disaster Events:
 A Wealth of Spatiotemporal Information for Future Use”

Masaki IWAFUNE, Toshikazu TAMURA,
Keisuke MATSUI and Takashi TODOKORO

Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), 2021, 130(2), 143.

DOI:10.5026/jgeography.130.143

Introduction to the Special Issue
 “Local Records of Natural Disaster Events:
 A Wealth of Spatiotemporal Information for Future Use”

Masaki IWAFUNE, Toshikazu TAMURA,
Keisuke MATSUI and Takashi TODOKORO

Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), 2021, 130(2), 147.

DOI:10.5026/jgeography.130.147

Local Reports on Natural Disasters:
 Significance, Historic and Recent Examples, and Requirements (Review Article)

Toshikazu TAMURA and Masaki IWAFUNE

Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), 2021, 130(2), 153.

DOI:10.5026/jgeography.130.153

A Review of Disaster Archives of Past Natural Disaster Records Focusing
 on Tsunami Events in the Sanriku Coastal Area and Discussion (Review Article)

Hinako SUZUKI

Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), 2021, 130(2), 177.

DOI:10.5026/jgeography.130.177

The Role of Landform Information in Disaster Records of Local Scale Areas
 Focusing on Geospatial Characteristics (Original Article)

Takahito KUROKI

Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), 2021, 130(2), 197.

DOI:10.5026/jgeography.130.197

Geographical Research on the Behavior and Social and Demographic Characteristics
 of Evacuees in Yamada Town, Iwate Prefecture,
 Following the Great East Japan Earthquake:
 A Case Study Using Evacuees’ Records (Original Article)

Takashi ABE, Yuzuru ISODA and Ayaka YAMASHINA

Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), 2021, 130(2), 213.

DOI:10.5026/jgeography.130.213

Changes in the Commercial Structure of an Area Affected
 by the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster:
 The Case of Yamada Town, Iwate Prefecture (Original Article)

Nobuhiko KOMAKI, Nobuyuki IWAMA, Koichi TANAKA,
Midori SASAKI, Masashi IKEDA and Tatsuto ASAKAWA

Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), 2021, 130(2), 239.

DOI:10.5026/jgeography.130.239

Settlement Location and Relocation History
 of a Tsunami-prone Area in Northeastern Japan:
 Differential Selection in the Use of Geomorphic Resources (Original Article)

Toshikazu TAMURA and Masayuki SETO

Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), 2021, 130(2), 261.

DOI:10.5026/jgeography.130.261

Efforts to Grasp Progresses of Recovery and Reconstruction
 Following the Great East Japan Earthquake on Broader-Areas and Local-Areas
 (Original Article)

Akio EGAWA and Naoko MORI

Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), 2021, 130(2), 289.

DOI:10.5026/jgeography.130.289

Collecting Damaged Materials and Archiving the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
 (Letter)

Masayuki SETO

Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi), 2021, 130(2), 303.

DOI:10.5026/jgeography.130.303