DESCRIPTION OF THE CITIES BEFORE THE BOMBINGS

DESCRIPTION OF THE CITIES BEFORE THE BOMBINGS
Hiroshima
The city of Hiroshima is located on the broad, flat delta of
the Ota River, which has 7 channel outlets dividing the city
into six islands which project into Hiroshima Bay. The city
is almost entirely flat and only slightly above sea level; to the
northwest and northeast of the city some hills rise to 700
feet. A single hill in the eastern part of the city proper about
1/2 mile long and 221 feet in height interrupted to some
extent the spreading of the blast damage; otherwise the city
was fully exposed to the bomb. Of a city area of over 26
square miles, only 7 square miles were completely built-up.
There was no marked separation of commercial, industrial,
and residential zones. 75% of the population was concentrated
in the densely built-up area in the center of the city.
Hiroshima was a city of considerable military importance.
It contained the 2nd Army Headquarters, which commanded
the defense of all of southern Japan. The city was
a communications center, a storage point, and an assembly
area for troops. To quote a Japanese report, “Probably more
than a thousand times since the beginning of the war did
the Hiroshima citizens see off with cries of ‘Banzai’ the
troops leaving from the harbor.”

The center of the city contained a number of reinforced
concrete buildings as well as lighter structures. Outside
the center, the area was congested by a dense collection of
small wooden workshops set among Japanese houses; a
few larger industrial plants lay near the outskirts of the
city. The houses were of wooden construction with tile
roofs. Many of the industrial buildings also were of wood
frame construction. The city as a whole was highly susceptible
to fire damage.
Some of the reinforced concrete buildings were of a far
stronger construction than is required by normal standards
in America, because of the earthquake danger in Japan.
This exceptionally strong construction undoubtedly accounted
for the fact that the framework of some of the
buildings which were fairly close to the center of damage
in the city did not collapse.
The population of Hiroshima had reached a peak of over
380,000 earlier in the war but prior to the atomic bombing
the population had steadily decreased because of a systematic
evacuation ordered by the Japanese government.
At the time of the attack the population was approximately
255,000. This figure is based on the registered population,
used by the Japanese in computing ration quantities, and
the estimates of additional workers and troops who were
brought into the city may not be highly accurate. Hiroshima
thus had approximately the same number of people as the
city of Providence, R.I., or Dallas, Tex.