Tarō, Iwate
Tarō (田老町 Tarō-chō) was a town located in Shimohei District, Iwate, Japan.
On June 6, 2005 Tarō, along with the village of Niisato, was merged into the expanded city of Miyako and no longer exists as an independent municipality.
As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 4,648 and a density of 46.00 persons per km². The total area was 101.05 km².
The former town is located to the east of the prefectural capital Morioka and to the north of the regional center Miyako with which it has now merged. The area has a rugged coastline to the east, which is a part of Sanriku rias coast. The main local industry is fishing.
The town built two 10 meter tall seawalls to prevent flooding from tsunami, which devastated the town in 1611, 1896, and 1933. The seawalls were designed to divert tsunami water to the side of the town, so that the damage of the residential area can be minimized from tsunami as high as 15 metres (49 ft). However, the seawall did not protect the town when an earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on 11 March 2011 with a height estimated from 12 metres (39 ft)[1] to 37.9 metres (124 ft).[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "A story of survival rises from the ruins of a fishing village". Toronto Star. 2011-03-15. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/954436--a-story-of-survival-rises-from-the-ruins-of-a-fishing-village. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ "38-meter-high tsunami triggered by March 11 quake: survey". Kyodo News. April 3, 2011. http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/04/82888.html. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
[edit] External links
- Official website of Miyako in Japanese
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