The Great Wall of Japan gets higher

TSUNAMIS: STRUCTURES OF UP T0 15M TO KEEP WAVES OUT

Coastal towns build new barriers to prevent a repeat of 2011 tragedy.

The Japanese town of Taro had sea walls that were supposed to be able to survive almost anything the ocean could offer up, but the 2011 tsunami still brought utter destruction.

A decade after the deadly waves unleashed by one of the most powerful earthquakes in history, the lesson learned in many coastal towns was: build higher.

That has left a legacy cast in concrete along hundreds of kilometres of Japan’s northeastern coast – with a few notable exceptions where communities have rejected the imposing barriers.

Before 2011, people in Taro assumed their walls would withstand just about everything. “Taro had built a perfect town to prevent disaster,” 63-year-old tour guide Kumiko Motoda said.

The town adopted sea walls as early as 1934, after being engulfed by huge tsunamis in 1896 and 1933.

Its 10m-high barriers, running 2.4km in total, were known collectively as “The Great Wall” and came with 44 tsunami evacuation routes, equipped with solar panels to keep the lights on.

Roads were designed with clear views for evacuees, and residents were supposed to be able to get to safety in less than 10 minutes, Motoda said.

But the 16m wave that arrived on 11 March made quick work of those plans, streaming over the walls and destroying them as it carried away homes and cars.

Across Taro, 140 residents were killed and 41 remain missing.

After the disaster, Japan’s government asked coastal regions in the area to consider constructing or rebuilding protective walls.

In all, 430km of non-contiguous barriers will be built, with construction about 80% complete. The structures screen long sections of the sea from view.

In Taro, the walls are now up to 14.7m high and run for over 2km. – AFP