[2] However, the town was totally evacuated in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and residents were permitted return during daylight hours from May 2013.

Ōkuma lies in the center of the Hamadōri region of Fukushima, bordered to the west by the Abukuma Highlands and to the east by the Pacific Ocean.

Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Ōkuma grew steadily over the past 40 years until the nuclear disaster.

While historical records are unclear, it is believed that the area of present-day Ōkuma was ruled by the Shineha clan beginning in the mid-12th century.

Over a half a century later, on 11 November 1954, the villages of Ōno and Kumamachi merged to form the present-day town of Ōkuma.

In the tail end of the 1950s, the prefecture began promoting electricity generation as a way to alleviate the economic problems on the horizon from the impending closure of the coal mines.

[11] On 11 March 2011 the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami occurred, causing severe damage to Ōkuma and especially devastating coastal areas.

By the following morning, the Japanese government had ordered residents to evacuate to outside of a 10 km (6.2 mi) radius of the power plant.

[12] Shortly thereafter Ōkuma set up a temporary town office in the Tamura City General Gymnasium (田村市総合体育館, Tamura-shi Sōgō Taiikukan).