It is a resort town on a coastline of wooded islands and mountainous inlets, large sections of which suffered from damage due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

[4] Miyagi Prefecture Per Japanese census data,[6] the population of Minamisanriku peaked in the 1950s and has declined steadily over the past 70 years.

The area of present-day Minamisanriku was part of ancient Mutsu Province and came under the control of the Date clan of Sendai Domain during the Edo period, under the Tokugawa shogunate.

The 1960 Valdivia earthquake triggered a tsunami that crossed the Pacific Ocean and struck the town of Shizugawa with a height of up to 2.8 metres (9.2 ft),[8] causing extensive damage.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the disaster in 1990, a bilingual Spanish-Japanese plaque was installed, with a message from President Patricio Aylwin of Chile, accompanied by a replica moai statue.

[12] Immediate aftermath accounts suggested 95 percent of the town was destroyed by the 2011 Japanese tsunami that followed the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.

Only the tallest buildings remained, and roughly half the population was unaccounted for during the days following the disaster;[13][14][15][16] only 9,700 people were confirmed alive and evacuated in the first week.

[24] The three-story building of the town's Crisis Management Department (防災対策庁舎, Bōsai Taisaku Chōsha) which Sato escaped to was submerged by the tsunami.

[25] Miki Endo, a 25-year-old employed by the town's Crisis Management Department to voice disaster advisories and warnings, was hailed in the Japanese news media as a heroine for sacrificing her life by continuing to broadcast warnings and alerts over the community loudspeaker system, in the Crisis Management Department's building, as the tsunami overwhelmed it.

[26] Photos show the roof of the building completely submerged at the height of the inundation, with some people clinging to the rooftop antenna.

[27][28] The surviving steel frame, with bent sections being kept intact as a reminder of the damage the building sustained, has been preserved during the city's recovery.

The clinic included surgical, pediatrics and maternity wards, and an intensive care unit, pharmacy and laboratory along with 62 tons of medical supplies.