The visit to Minami Sanriku reminds me of what Professor Sak said the other day about how natural disasters are opportunities that a country should not miss. Natural disasters, with their tremendous destructive power, bring country unbelievable damage but also give the government a chance to rethink about their city-planning and move their urban area to some safer places.
In the case of Tohoku area, when we visited the affected area, I found out that some crucial functioning institutions, such as the government buildings and especially the earthquake preparedness center, were located at the low land where the tsunami damage was most severe. This area was not in absence of tsunamis: fifty years ago there was an orphan tsunami affecting this area. However, the government did not seize the opportunity to move its essential buildings (or maybe they miscalculated the likelihood of tsunami occurrence and magnitude). Although the officers who broadcasted about earthquake situations and evacuation locations were extremely responsible, their report would save more people if this building and facilities survived the disaster instead of being destroyed and thus unable to continue instructing people at the middle of the disaster.
I hope that the government will learn their lesson this time.
Also, there is an interesting debate about if the government should keep this earthquake preparedness center and other buildings as a memorial sites for tourists to see or not. In my opinion, this decisions should be made to enlarge the benefits and rights of the city’s own people, rather than considering too much about the tourists’ needs. If dwellers from this area felt panic and sorrow when they set their eyes on those damaged buildings, removing the remains and reconstruct new buildings would be a better choice. After all, it was the city’s own people who form and do most work for the community, and who matter the most to this city.
