Kolhufushi (

Dhivehi Dhivehi, also spelled Divehi, may refer to: *Dhivehi people, an ethnic group native to the historic region of the Maldive Islands. *Dhivehi language, an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Republic of Maldives ...

: ކޮޅުފުށި) is one of the inhabited islands of

Meemu Atoll Mulaku Atoll or Meemu Atoll(މުލަކަތޮޅު) is an administrative division of the Maldives. It corresponds to the natural atoll of the same name, also known as Mulak Atoll or 'Mulakatolhu'. There is a mosque of historical value in Kolhufush ...

History

2004 tsunami and aftermath

The island was greatly affected by the

2004 tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

, although coral reefs took some of the impact. The island's chief, Mr. Sigee, described the water as reaching his chin. Two weeks after the disaster, the island's population was found to have lost at least sixteen people, and the island's mango and banana trees had been poisoned by the saltwater. Some homes and a century-old mosque had also been destroyed. Most of the other houses were unsuitable for habitation, leaving only a handful of functional homes. By mid-January 2005, 8% of the 13,000-strong displaced Maldivian population was housed in temporary shelters on Kolhufushi. The construction of 55 replacement houses was started in October 2008, and a further 168 houses were started in 2010. Tsunami drills were introduced on the island in 2018. A tsunami warning in 2016 had uncovered a lack of preparedness, for dealing with safe evacuation.

Geography

The island is south of the country's capital,

Malé Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...

. The land area of the island is in 2018. The island was described as having an area of in 2007.

Demography

Utilities

Electrification on Kolhufushi was undertaken by MTCC in 2013. A submarine cable network was laid to the island, by

Ooredoo Maldives Ooredoo Maldives (formerly Wataniya Maldives) is a mobile operator in the Maldives, owned by Ooredoo Group. History The firm was issued a licence as the new mobile phone operator in February 2005. Ooredoo Maldives was selected after a bidding p ...

, in 2017.

Health care

Kolhufushi has a pharmacy.

Sport

The island has a football team. The team won every one of their group games at the 2017 Haf Islanders Cup, but lost to Male' in the semi-final.

Transport

The construction of Kolhufushi's harbour was contracted in January 2016, and was completed the following year. The harbour was inaugurated in 2018.

References

Islands of the Maldives Lighthouses in the Maldives {{Maldives-geo-stub