Field Survey of the Tsunamis Inundating Ofunato City : The 1960 Chile and 1933 Sanriku Tsunamis

Ofunato, located on the southern Sanriku coast in northeastern Japan was hit by the Sanriku tsunamis on June 15, 1896 and March 3, 1933 and by the Chile tsunami on May 24, 1960. In the 1933 Sanriku tsunami, Ofunato was not hit as bad as the neighboring regions. The 1960 Chile tsunami hit the whole Japanese Pacific coast, and Ofunato in particular suffered severe damage. The wave-height of the 1933 Sanriku tsunami decreased toward the head of Ofunato Bay, while that of the 1960 Chile tsunami increased, exciting the seiche period in the bay. At Ofunato and Akazaki, 432 houses were washed away or destroyed and 52 persons were drowned