is a city located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 53,462 in 26,355 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Minamisōma is located in northeastern Fukushima Prefecture, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Abukuma Plateau to the west. Neighboring municipalities Fukushima Prefecture Sōma Iitate Namie Climate Minamisōma has a humid climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Minamisōma is 12.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1285 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 1.7 °C. Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Minamisōma peaked in the 1950s. History The area of present-day Minamisōma was part of ancient Mutsu Province, and has been settled since at least the Jōmon period. Numerous Kofun period remains have been found in the area. During the Edo period, the area was part of the holdings of Sōma Domain. After the Meiji Restoration, it was organized as part of Iwaki Province. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1896, the area was organized into a number of towns and villages within Sōma District, including the town of Hara on September 1, 1897. Hara was raised to city status on March 20, 1954, becoming the city of Haramachi. The present city of Minamisōma was established on January 1, 2006, from the merger of Haramachi with the towns of Kashima and Odaka (both from Sōma District). 2011 earthquake and tsunami Minamisōma was partially inundated by the tsunami which resulted from the Tōhoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, and suffered heavy damage. As of April 9, 2011, 400 residents were confirmed dead, with 1,100 missing. Minamisōma is about north of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, the site of the nuclear accident that followed the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Much of the city lies within the 30 kilometer mandated evacuation zone near the plant, and thus most of the residents were forced to leave. Approximately a week after the earthquake Minamisōma was in the news again as the town's mayor Katsunobu Sakarai asserted that his people had been "abandoned" in the wake of orders for all remaining residents to stay in their homes inside the exclusion zone around the Fukushima