The Yomiuri Shimbun
More than 30 percent of residential, commercial and other developed land in 13 cities and towns of Iwate and Miyagi prefectures was flooded by the tsunami caused by the March 11 earthquake, according to the government's Geographical Survey Institute.
The tsunami flooded more than half of such land in Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, and Otsuchicho, Iwate Prefecture, a survey by the institute revealed.
The institute has compiled its findings on a map to show the scope of the flooding, using 2,085 aerial pictures taken on March 12, 13, and 19.
In Miyagi Prefecture, a total of 326 square kilometers were submerged, followed by Fukushima with 67 square kilometers and Iwate with 49 square kilometers. Aomori Prefecture had two square kilometers flooded.
Higashi-Matsushima was the worst affected municipality, with 63 percent of its residential and other developed land inundated, totaling eight square kilometers. The tsunami flooded 46 percent, or 22 square kilometers, of the urban areas of Ishinomaki, which faces Ishinomaki Bay.
Coastal areas on the Sanriku region, with its many narrow bays, suffered severe damage by tsunami that topped 10 meters.
Otsuchicho, its town hall destroyed by the tsunami, had about 50 percent of its land submerged, or about two square kilometers.
The tsunami inundated 48 percent, or three square kilometers, of developed areas of Minami-Sanrikucho, Miyagi Prefecture, where about 1,200 residents have been confirmed dead or are still missing.
The map also shows that the tsunami reached as much as five kilometers inland near Sendai and Ishinomaki bays. Many areas are still under water, as the magnitude-9.0 earthquake caused some ground to sink.
In Miyagi Prefecture, 29 square kilometers, or 56 percent, of Wakabayashi Ward, Sendai, was flooded. Of this area, 21 square kilometers was agricultural land.
The waves inundated 29 square kilometers, or 49 percent, of Iwanuma, and 35 square kilometers, or 47 percent, of Wataricho.
(Mar. 31, 2011)
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