Powerful waves hit US military base in Marshall Islands
A wave of unexpected waves washed over the island of Roi-Namur in the Marshall Islands on Saturday, forcing evacuations from a US military base and causing damage that could take months to repair.
A video from a building at the U.S. Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll widely distributed on social media showed a wave of water crashing through a set of double doors, knocking them off their hinges and upsetting people standing nearby. Another blast of water poured through the windows, forcing people to wade through waist-high water as furniture and vegetation floated around them.
Roi-Namur is a small island about 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii and is the second largest island of the Kwajalein Atoll, a loop of coral reefs in the Marshall Islands.
The U.S. Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll supports a missile range and test facility. About 120 soldiers were living in Roi-Namur when the waves hit, and 80 were evacuated, said Mike Brantley, a spokesman for the base. in a statement on Tuesday.
Flooding from the waves damaged homes and left the dining facility, chapel and theater “moderately to severely damaged,” the statement said. A car complex was still flooded on Tuesday.
It could take months for recovery efforts to be completed, Mr. Brantley said.
He said 60 people remained behind to assess the damage and restore basic services, as well as to deliver water and fuel to nearby Enniburr Island, where the base's Marshallese workers live.
Army photos showed it extensive flooding on the island and an eatery that is overrun with mud and plants.
Col. Drew Morgan, the garrison commander, said in a video posted on Facebook on Monday that there were “some minor injuries” when the waves hit.
“Clearing the runway at Roi-Namur and assessing its safety is our top priority as we have evacuated personnel not required for initial response efforts,” Colonel Morgan said in a statement on Tuesday. “Once the runway is open, we can move people and equipment back and forth to begin the recovery process.”
Roi-Namur has an area of approximately one square kilometer and is “extremely vulnerable” to sea level rise. according to the US Geological Survey.
Man-made global warming is the main cause of rising sea levels around the world. When the ocean surface is higher, storms can push water further inland, increasing the chance of significant damage. The low-lying Marshall Islands, which average only a few meters above sea level, are particularly vulnerable to such waves.
At the COP28 climate summit in December, a Marshall Islands official was one of several representatives from the countries most vulnerable to climate change to criticize a global pact to tackle climate change.
“I came here from my home in the islands to work with all of you to solve the greatest challenge of our generation,” John Silk, the Marshall Islands' minister of natural resources, said in a statement reported by Reuters. “I came here to build a canoe together for my country. Instead, we built a canoe with a weak and leaky hull, full of holes. Instead we put it in the water.”
Raymond Zhong reporting contributed.