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. , compared to the government's criteria for return of 20 millisieverts per year. 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. In July, beef from Minamisōma was found to be contaminated with radioactive
cesium above the legal limit, according to the
Daily Yomiuri. In March 2012, the city was divided into three zones: in the first, people were free to go in and out but not allowed to stay overnight; in the second, access was limited to short visits; and in the third area, all entry was forbidden because of elevated radiation levels that were not expected to go down within five years after the accident. On April 15, 2012 some of people of Minamisōma were able to return to their homes when the evacuation zone was reduced from 30 kilometers to 20 kilometers from the reactors, with the exception of a wide area on the western border of the city with the town of Namie. At the time the evacuation order was lifted the centre of city was still scattered with ruins and lacked electricity and running water, while schools and hospitals remained closed. On July 12, 2016 the evacuation order was lifted for all areas of the city except the western border region with Namie; this permitted all of the remaining evacuees (with the exception of one household) to return home. In August of the same year, elementary schools and junior high schools, which had been closed since 2011, were allowed to reopen. ==Government==