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Minamisōma

Coordinates: 37°38′31.9″N 140°57′26.3″E / 37.642194°N 140.957306°E / 37.642194; 140.957306
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Minamisōma
南相馬市
Minamisōma City Hall
Minamisōma City Hall
Flag of Minamisōma
Official logo of Minamisōma
Location of Minamisōmain Fukushima Prefecture
Location of Minamisōmain Fukushima Prefecture
Minamisōma is located in Japan
Minamisōma
Minamisōma
 
Coordinates: 37°38′31.9″N 140°57′26.3″E / 37.642194°N 140.957306°E / 37.642194; 140.957306
CountryJapan
RegionTōhoku
PrefectureFukushima Prefecture
Government
 • MayorKatsunobu Sakurai
Area
 • Total398.58 km2 (153.89 sq mi)
Population
 (1 October 2017)
 • Total55,580
 • Density140/km2 (360/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- TreeJapanese Zelkova
- FlowerSakura
- BirdSkylark
- FishSalmon
- InsectFirefly
Address2-27 Motomachi, Haramachi-ku, Minamisōma-shi, Fukushima-ken 975-8686
WebsiteOfficial website

Minamisōma (南相馬市, Minamisōma-shi) is a Japanese city in Fukushima on the island of Honshu.

Minamisōma was formed on 1 January 2006 when three neighboring towns were merged in a new city -- Haramachi, Odaka, and Kashima.[1]

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

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The tsunami partly covered the city on 11 March 2011. It damaged the city severely. As of 9 April 2011, 400 residents were known to be dead and 1,100 missing.[2]

Minamisōma is about 25 km north of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Much of the city is in the area near the plant where people should not live. Most people in the city had to leave.[2] About a week after the earthquake, Minamisōma was in the news again as the town's mayor Katsunobu Sakarai complained about orders telling people still near the plant to stay in their homes. He said they had been 'abandoned'.[3]

In mid-summer 2011, tests found radioactive cesium above the legal limit in beef from Minamisōma.[4]

In 2012, plans were made to build solar plants on radiation-contaminated farmlands.[5]

In 2013, some critics complained that reports issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) were misleading. According to some public health experts, the health impact of nuclear fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster is under-estimated.[6]

References

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  1. Japan Geographic Data Center (JGDC), 伊達市(ダテシ) Archived 2012-01-07 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-3-11.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Associated Press, "Eerie quiet reigns in evacuation zone Archived 2012-12-19 at Archive.today", The Japan Times, 9 April 2011, p. 4.
  3. John M. Glionna (March 31, 2011). "Anger and abandonment in a Japanese nuclear ghost town". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 August 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  4. "Excessive cesium found in 11 cows". Yomiuri Shimbun. 10 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011.
  5. "Request made to build solar plant on contaminated farmland," Archived 2013-02-13 at the Wayback Machine Asahi Shimbun, 20 March 2011; "Japanese Town Hit Hard by Natural and Nuclear Disaster Imagines Renewable Future" at PBS NewsHour Archived 2014-01-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-3-11.
  6. "Activists fault WHO on Fukushima radiation," WAtoday (Australia). 12 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-3-11.

Other websites

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Media related to Minamisōma at Wikimedia Commons

Response to YouTube video for help: