Impacts of collective housing relocation in the Ogatsu area of Ishinomaki City after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Abstract

Eight years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, which devastated communities along Japan’s northeast Tohoku coast on March 11, 2011. Housing reconstruction programs in tsunami-affected municipalities included the provision of new residential lots in highland areas and the construction of public housing. The implementation of government-driven recovery projects is almost complete in the municipalities that were destroyed by the tsunami. However, even with these projects, some areas have suffered extreme population loss. Looking at the example of Ogatsu Peninsula and the case of Tachihama village, this paper considers the factors that contributed to residents’ deciding to move away or return and rebuild. According to the majority of the residents who moved away, the prospect of living in temporary housing for the length of time needed for permanent housing to be ready was their main reason for deciding to move somewhere else. Although housing recovery programs are intended to support the rebuilding of communities, the implementation and timeline of the government’s reconstruction programs may actually contribute to or accelerate population decline. As the implementation of reconstruction programs alone after a disaster occurs is not enough to guarantee the housing recovery of all residents, it may be important to consider pre-disaster community-building for the long-term sustainability of disaster-affected communities.