open during January and early February. Speed skating competitions are held for local school children every year. The Yamakiya region was placed under mandatory evacuation (classified as a "planned evacuation zone") due to elevated levels of radiation following the 2011 earthquake and nuclear crisis. As of 10 August 2013, the evacuation status of Yamakiya was reorganized, with the majority of the area being redesignated as "an area readying for the lifting of evacuation orders", and a small area by the Namie border to remain restricted. The actual evacuation status may be lifted in spring of 2016. Climate Kawamata has a humid climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Kawamata is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . Demographics Per Japanese census data, like many rural Japanese communities, Kawamata has suffered from a shrinking population over the past few decades. From a high of more than 27,000 in 1950, the population has decreased to only 15,010 in 2012. This has been correlated with a reduction in available services, including the shutting down of the Kawamata Line railway in 1972, and the closing or merging of several schools. History The area of present-day Kawamata was part of ancient Mutsu Province. Numerous Jōmon period ruins have been found in the area. During the Edo period, it was tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate. After the Meiji Restoration, it was organized as part of Adachi District in the Nakadōri region of Iwaki Province with the creation of the modern municipalities system. The origin of modern Kawamata goes back to 1876, when Kawamata Village was established; the community was subsequently redesignated as Kawamata Town with the establishment of the municipalities system on 1 April 1889. In 1955, seven neighboring villages – Fukuda, Iizaka, Kotsunagi, Ōtsunagi, Ojima, Tomita, and Yamakiya – were merged into Kawamata Town, leading to the current municipal boundaries. Kawamata's official emblem, a stylized か (ka) hiragana designed to resemble a bird in flight, was adopted in 1965. 2011 Earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster Kawamata was impacted in a number of ways by the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. As an inland community, the town was not directly affected by the tsunami. However, power outages lasting up to several days (depending on area)