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.


Nagasaki

Nagasaki lies at the head of a long bay which forms the best natural harbor