Trinket Island

Trinket Island (29 km²) is part of the Nicobar Islands chain, located in the northeast Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. It is located east of Kamorta island and, like the Nicobar Islands generally, is under the sovereignty of the nation of India. As of 2001, the Indian census catalogued 436 persons living on Trinket in four villages, Trinket (population 244), Safebalu (pop. 127), Tapiang (pop. 42) and Hockcook (pop. 23) ( [http://police.and.nic.in/trinket.htm] ).

Like the other Nicobar and Andaman Islands, Trinket was devastated by tsunamis generated by the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake. The island, which had a low and flat topography, was severely eroded by the powerful waves, suffering the loss of 19.4% of its surface area, from 36 km². down to 29 km². ( [http://www.niot.res.in:82/mbic/osti/newsletters/October2005.pdf] ). Initial reports that the island had been split apart( [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4134751.stm] ) were later confirmed by satellite imagery( [http://www.ircc.iitb.ac.in/~webadm/update/Issue1_2005/Images/Tsunami2.jpg] ). On Trinket, the tsunami caused 91 deaths( [http://www.niot.res.in:82/mbic/osti/newsletters/October2005.pdf] ) and the total devastation of the island's communities and economy. Shortly after the disaster, the entire remaining population of the island was evacuated to neighboring islands, principally Nancowry.( [http://www.andaman.org/mapstsunami/4local/4local.htm] )