Kamaishi is a city in Iwate Prefecture. The city is small with only 41,022 people as of 2008. It is a historic city though because of its part in World War II where it was the first naval bombardment by the U.S. navy. The city was completely detroyed on June 15, 1896 when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit the coast of Iwate. The city was again destroyed in 2011 by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.