Babi Island (Flores)
Encyclopedia
Babi Island is an island located off the coast of Flores
, East Nusa Tenggara
. The 1992 Flores earthquake and resulting tsunami
s are estimated to have killed 263 to 700 residents of the island, with most of the destruction on the southern end of the island.
and faces the Flores Sea
. Further south there is a small tidal flat where two villages were built, the majority-Christian Pagaraman to the east and majority-Muslim Kampungbaru to the west. At the southern end of the island, the barrier reef tapers. It is administratively part of Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara
.
to the north, while a second may have hit the southwest side of the island after refracting around the southern side. The tsunami waves reached a height of 7.2 metres (23.6 ft); this was "unexpectedly large". Between 263 and 700 of the island's 1,093 inhabitants were killed and both villages were completely destroyed.
s, hammerhead shark
s, and spider crab
s can be found there.
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
, East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, including West Timor. The provincial capital is Kupang, located on West Timor...
. The 1992 Flores earthquake and resulting tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s are estimated to have killed 263 to 700 residents of the island, with most of the destruction on the southern end of the island.
Layout
Babi is a roughly circular island less than 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) in diameter located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the north of Flores. Its maximum height above sea level is 351 metres (1,151.6 ft). Its north end is bordered by a wide coral reefCoral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
and faces the Flores Sea
Flores Sea
The Flores Sea covers 93,000 square miles of water in Indonesia.- Geography :The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea , Java Sea , and the Banda Sea ....
. Further south there is a small tidal flat where two villages were built, the majority-Christian Pagaraman to the east and majority-Muslim Kampungbaru to the west. At the southern end of the island, the barrier reef tapers. It is administratively part of Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, including West Timor. The provincial capital is Kupang, located on West Timor...
.
History
On 12 December 1992, an earthquake occurred near Flores at 5:29 a.m. local time (UTC+8). Within three minutes, at least one tsunami approached Babi Island from the direction of the earthquake's epicenterEpicenter
The epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates...
to the north, while a second may have hit the southwest side of the island after refracting around the southern side. The tsunami waves reached a height of 7.2 metres (23.6 ft); this was "unexpectedly large". Between 263 and 700 of the island's 1,093 inhabitants were killed and both villages were completely destroyed.
Diving
Babi is home to many diving sites. One, called The Crack, was formed during the 1992 earthquake. Located in a reef 20 metres (65.6 ft) below the water, the 70 centimetre crack reaches a length of 30 metres (98.4 ft). Numerous forms of aquatic life, including eagle rayEagle ray
The eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom....
s, hammerhead shark
Hammerhead shark
The hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks in the family Sphyrnidae, so named for the unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a "hammer" shape called a "cephalofoil". Most hammerhead species are placed in the genus Sphyrna while the...
s, and spider crab
Spider crab
The term spider crab can refer to various species of crab in the family Majidae. See crab spider for spiders of the Thomisidae family.*Japanese spider crab , the largest living species of crab, found on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean*Libinia emarginata, the portly spider crab, a species of crab...
s can be found there.