On September 17, 1945, Hiroshima was struck by the Makurazaki Typhoon (Typhoon Ida), one ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the largest typhoons ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the Sh?wa period. Hiroshima prefecture suffered more than 3,000 deaths and injuries, about half the national total.[13] More than half the bridges in the city were destroyed, along with heavy damage to roads and railroads, further devastating the city.[14]
Hiroshima was rebuilt after the war, with the help from the national government through the Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law passed in 1949. It provided financial assistance for reconstruction, along with land donated that was previously owned by the national government and used for military purposes.[15] Several U.S. civic leaders and scholars were consulted about the rebuilding plan.[citation needed]
In 1949, a design was selected for the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, the closest surviving building to the location ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the bomb's detonation, was designated the Genbaku Dome (?????) or "Atomic Dome", a part ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum was opened in 1955 in the Peace Park.[16]
Hiroshima was proclaimed a City ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ Peace by the Japanese parliament in 1949, at the initiative ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ its mayor, Shinzo Hamai (1905–1968). As a result, the city ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ Hiroshima received more international attention as a desirable location for holding international conferences on peace as well as social issues. As part ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ that effort, the Hiroshima Interpreters' and Guide's Association (HIGA) was established in 1992 in order to facilitate translation services for conferences, and the Hiroshima Peace Institute was established in 1998 within the Hiroshima University. The city government continues to advocate the abolition ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ all nuclear weapons and the Mayor ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ Hiroshima is the President ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ Mayors for Peace, an international Mayoral organization mobilizing cities and citizens worldwide to abolish and eliminate nuclear weapons by the year 2020 Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign