UV Geography

[decaro]

RANONGGA, Solomon Islands (AFP) - The seismic jolt that unleashed the deadly Solomons tsunami this week lifted an entire island metres out of the sea, destroying some of the world's most pristine coral reefs.

In an instant, the grinding of the Earth's tectonic plates in the 8.0 magnitude earthquake Monday forced the island of Ranongga up three metres (10 foot).

Any one know where this island is/should be on the UV map?
I wonder if the tsunami disturbed any of the wrecks in "Iron Bottom Sound"?

[tanjman]

Joe,

Its part of the New Georgia Group - map at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NewG ... loseup.png

[decaro]

Thanks for both the fast response and the link w/map; Ranongga must be just south of Vella Lavellla (31,36), but it's not identified as a separate island on the UV map.

I bet Ranongga was easier to find that to pronouce.

[DEB]

Per my atlas, the Island of Ranongga is the whitish bit in hexes 30,36 & 30,37 - just above the word MUNDA , and below Vella Lavella.
As it's bigger than the Russell Islands it is strange it's in as a reef (?).
Still, we can't expect every island on a map like the UV one.

[jmkas]

Something did happen:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Wreckage from a World War II torpedo boat was tossed up from the sea in the Solomon Islands after a powerful 8.1 earthquake hit the area in early April, an official said Friday.

Jay Waura of the National Disaster Management Office said the explosive-laden boat was exposed when reefs were pushed up three meters (10 feet) above sea level by the April 2 quake, which caused a devastating tsunami in the western Solomon Islands that killed 52 people.

The Solomons' coastline is still littered with decaying military wrecks from World War II, including the torpedo patrol boat commanded by U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

"My team members believe that this boat could have been one of those U.S. torpedo boats such as the famous PT-109, which the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy had served aboard during the war," Waura said.

Kennedy's boat was sunk by a Japanese destroyer in the Blackett Strait in August 1943 off Gizo, the main town of western Solomon Islands. The Solomons' main island, Guadalcanal, was the scene of fierce World War II fighting.

Waura said people on Rannonga island showed his team the wreckage sitting on dry ground.

"We were amazed by this finding, as previously this wreckage had long been sitting under the sea and rusting in peace without anyone knowing about it," New Zealand Press Association quoted Waura as saying.

Only the boat's hull with its deadly cargo of explosives remained intact, he said.

Waura said a Solomon Islands Police Force bomb disposal unit would be sent to the island to safely detonate the explosives.
Kennedy was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy serving in the Pacific when his PT-109 was cut in two by the Japanese destroyer.

Two crew were killed, but Kennedy and the vessel's other survivors clung to the wreckage before swimming to a nearby island. The experience earned Kennedy the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.

Wreckage from PT-109 was found in 2002 by shipwreck hunter Robert Ballard, who also found the Titanic as well as other notable sunken ships.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/04/27/quake.pt.boat.ap/index.html

[tocaff]

.....when the sea gives up her dead.

[decaro]

Hard to believe that a wooden PT hull is still intact after more than half a century under water; obviously its not the 109 as that PT's hull was cut in two.