The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami reached about 127 feet above sea level in places along Japan's coast. Official figures list 19,759 deaths, with 2,553 people still missing. The village of Aneyoshi in Iwate survived after villagers heeded an older stone warning reading, "Do not build any homes below this point." The 2011 waves stopped about 300 feet short of the marked line. Tsunami stones along Japan's coast commemorate the 1896 Meiji Sanriku tsunami, which killed about 22,000 people, and the 869 Jōgan tsunami. Some carry the urgent command, "Run to high ground after an earthquake." Researchers have associated communities that followed such warnings with lower casualty rates. Rome has five plaques marking Tiber floods from 1422 to 1530, and Gdańsk has a limestone flood stone dated 1651.
Japanese tsunami stones helped save lives in the 2011 disaster
Site mentioned
📍 Aneyoshi
Key facts
- In 2011, a tsunami reached about 127 feet above sea level in places along Japan's coast; official 2021 figures report 19,759 deaths, with 2,553 people still missing.
- Aneyoshi, now part of Ōtsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, survived after villagers followed a stone warning carved more than a century earlier.
- The stone reads, "Do not build any homes below this point"; the 2011 waves stopped about 300 feet short of the marked line.
- Tsunami stones commemorate the 1896 Meiji Sanriku tsunami, which killed about 22,000 people, and the 869 Jōgan tsunami.
- Some stones warn, "Run to high ground after an earthquake."
- Five plaques in Rome mark high floods of the Tiber between 1422 and 1530.
- A limestone block dated 1651 was uncovered in Gdańsk, Poland, and identified as a flood stone.
Sources
Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011 | Facts & Death Tollbritannica.com
Other estimates gave a final toll of at least 20,000. The great majority of those killed were drowning victims of the tsunami waves. What ...
11 March 2011 Tsunamilegacy.itic.ioc-unesco.org
As of 30 May 2011, the Japan National Police Agency reports 15,270 persons killed and 8,499 persons missing from the earthquake and tsunami.
2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami: Facts, FAQs, how to helpworldvision.org
An estimated 20,000 people were dead or missing and close to 500,000 people were forced to evacuate. In addition, a nuclear power plant meltdown ...
On This Day: 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami | Newsncei.noaa.gov
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan, generating a deadly tsunami.
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Fact Sheet - DOI.govdoi.gov
The Japanese National Police Agency reports that there are now 13,843 confirmed fatalities and 14,030 persons missing as a result of the ...
Tsunami Warnings, Written in Stonenytimes.com
Aneyoshi's tsunami stone is the only one that specifically tells where to build houses. But many of the region's names also seem to indicate ...
Tsunami stoneen.wikipedia.org
A tsunami stone is a type of stone monument found in Japan that warns people to move upwards after a large earthquake to avoid a potential tsunami.
Tsunami Stones in Kesennumaatlasobscura.com
Aneyoshi had endured two devastating tsunamis, one in 1896 and another in 1933. The stone was placed shortly after the 1933 tsunami, a four-foot ...
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