Abstract
The coastal forest and town damage in Iwate prefecture, Japan, following the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake Tsunami were surveyed at 14 sites by field observation and aerial photographs. Of the sites, 10 were almost destroyed by the Tsunami; however, four towns sustained only slight damage, despite the destruction of adjacent coastal forest and breaching of the sea wall. The common factor of the four towns was the large distance (≧about 600 m) to the coast line. Furthermore, two towns were located at a high elevation (≧18 m) and had expansive open spaces, such as paddies, at lower elevations. On the other hand, two towns located at lower elevations (≦10 m) were protected by a thick coastal forest zone (about 1 km) and a sea wall. These findings suggest that land use designation and the existence of coastal forest are important for protecting coastal towns from a tsunami.
