is a town located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. the town has a population of 1,238 in 794 households, although the official registered population was 17,114 in 6853 households. The total area of the town is . The town was evacuated as a result of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster—being directly downwind from the power plant—and was within the exclusion zone set up in response to the disaster. Following ongoing clean-up efforts, Namie's business district and town hall have reopened, but access to more heavily contaminated western parts of the town remains restricted. Geography Namie is located on the Pacific Ocean coastline of central Fukushima. Surrounding municipalities Fukushima Prefecture Minamisōma Iitate Kawamata Nihonmatsu Tamura Ōkuma Futaba Katsurao Climate Namie has a humid climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Namie 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, the population of Namie was relatively constant over the past 40 years until the nuclear disaster. History The area of present-day Namie was part of Mutsu Province. The remains of Kofun period burial mounds have been found in the area. During the Nara period, it was the center of ancient Futaba District within Iwaki Province During the Edo period, it was part of Sōma Domain, which was ruled by the Sōma clan until the Meiji restoration. On April 1, 1889, the village of Namie was created within Naraha District, Fukushima with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. Naraha District became Futaba District in April 1896. Namie was raised to town status on March 1, 1900. The town expanded on May 1, 1956 by annexing the neighboring villages of Obori, Karino and Tsushima. 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Namie was severely affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. Besides sustaining considerable damage from the earthquake, and the tsunami (which devastated the coastal area), the entire population of the town was evacuated en masse on the morning of March 12 as it is located well within the exclusion radius around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It was not searched for bodies until more than one month after the tsunami. During the evacuation, many town residents took refuge at a community