Japan’s Miyagi Pref. Hosts Tsunami Evacuation Race, 15 Yrs after Great East Japan Earthquake

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:52 JST, March 22, 2026

A race simulating a tsunami evacuation to higher ground was held in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, which suffered devastating damage from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

The race first began in 2013 to pass on the lesson of evacuating immediately to higher ground in the event of a tsunami. The aim is to ensure people react instinctively in an emergency by running along an actual evacuation route.

This year, marking 15 years since the earthquake, saw a record 269 participants.

Saturday’s race began at 2:46 p.m., the time the quake struck. Participants sprinted up about a 440-meter course from a shopping street in a coastal area to the town hall on higher ground.

“I ran as if a tsunami was closing in behind me. It was tough, but I did my best to escape,” said the participant from Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, who finished first.