Posted on 08/31/2006 9:37:02 AM PDT by HAL9000
Excerpt -
Super Typhoon Ioke, a Category 5 storm and the strongest to hit the Pacific in more than a decade, slammed into tiny Wake Island Thursday, threatening to submerge the U.S. territory, U.S. Navy weather forecasters said.The storm, packing sustained winds of more than 220 mph, with some gusts topping 250 mph, came ashore at about 10 a.m. ET, and was slowly tracking west, gaining strength over the warm tropical waters, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported. Wake Island is located about 2,300 miles west of Honolulu.
~ snip ~
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The runway on the island is just 14 feet above sea level.
Hopefully it will be there after the storm....
"...refueled there on the way to Vietnam."
Me, too. July 1967.
| Introduction | Wake Island |
|
Background:
|
The US annexed Wake Island in 1899 for a cable station. An important air and naval base was constructed in 1940-41. In December 1941, the island was captured by the Japanese and held until the end of World War II. In subsequent years, Wake was developed as a stopover and refueling site for military and commercial aircraft transiting the Pacific. Since 1974, the island's airstrip has been used by the US military and some commercial cargo planes, as well as for emergency landings. There are over 700 landings a year on the island. |
| Geography | Wake Island |
|
Location:
|
Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to the Northern Mariana Islands |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
19 17 N, 166 36 E |
|
Map references:
|
Oceania |
|
Area:
|
total: 6.5 sq km land: 6.5 sq km water: 0 sq km |
|
Area - comparative:
|
about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
|
Land boundaries:
|
0 km |
|
Coastline:
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19.3 km |
|
Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
|
Climate:
|
tropical |
|
Terrain:
|
atoll of three coral islands built up on an underwater volcano; central lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim |
|
Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 6 m |
|
Natural resources:
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none |
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Land use:
|
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
|
Irrigated land:
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0 sq km (1998 est.) |
|
Natural hazards:
|
occasional typhoons |
|
Environment - current issues:
|
NA |
|
Geography - note:
|
strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean; emergency landing location for transpacific flights |
| People | Wake Island |
|
Population:
|
no indigenous inhabitants note: US military personnel have left the island, but contractor personnel remain; as of October 2001, 200 contractor personnel were present (July 2005 est.) |
| Government | Wake Island |
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Wake Island |
|
Dependency status:
|
unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Washington, DC, by the Department of the Interior; activities on the island are conducted by the US Air Force |
|
Legal system:
|
the laws of the US, where applicable, apply |
|
Flag description:
|
the flag of the US is used |
| Economy | Wake Island |
|
Economy - overview:
|
Economic activity is limited to providing services to contractors located on the island. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. |
|
Electricity - production:
|
NA |
| Communications | Wake Island |
|
Telephone system:
|
general assessment: satellite communications; 1 DSN circuit off the Overseas Telephone System (OTS) domestic: NA international: NA |
|
Radio broadcast stations:
|
AM 0, FM NA, shortwave NA note: Armed Forces Radio/Television Service (AFRTS) radio service provided by satellite (1998) |
|
Television broadcast stations:
|
0 (1997) |
| Transportation | Wake Island |
|
Ports and harbors:
|
none; two offshore anchorages for large ships |
|
Airports:
|
1 (2004 est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
|
Transportation - note:
|
formerly an important commercial aviation base, now used by US military, some commercial cargo planes, and for emergency landings |
| Military | Wake Island |
|
Military - note:
|
defense is the responsibility of the US; launch support facility is part of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (RTS) administered by US Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) |
| Transnational Issues | Wake Island |
|
Disputes - international:
|
claimed by Marshall Islands |
|
This page was last updated on 1 November, 2005 |
Uh oh....this is gonna cost some big money .....got to have this up and going.....
I suspect it was just a monitoring site for missile tests. But there's little doubt it's all been destroyed.
It doesn't sound like a great place to live.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Wake_Island
Eat
A base dining facility provides meals to those stationed on the island. +1-808-424-2794.
[edit]Drink
Drifter's Reef, a long-standing establishment, is the only bar on the island.
[edit]Sleep
Barracks capable of housing 154 are maintained on the island. Double-occupancy rooms are provided to visitors, with VIP quarters sometimes available. +1-808-424-2794.
[edit]Work
The facilities on Wake Island are managed by the civilian Chugach Alaska Corporation, 560 E. 34th, Anchorage AK 99503 +1 907-563-8866. [1]
OMG...nothing could survive that.
JESUS. Are we the only one who follow the rules?? This is horrible.
That's the "before". It'll be interesting to see the "after".
"More proof of global warming!"
Which means this is all Bush's Faulttm.
____________________________________________________
Don't forget its Arnold's fault too.
Arnold should have signed the global warming measure earlier. He could have saved Wake.
"...They'll have to send in a bulldozer by boat, and it's unlikely that the docks exist to unload it...."
Get some helicopters to help lift the dozers to the island.
That may be GIGO. If someone got handed 220 mph instead of 220 kph, then converted to kph from that, it could compound the error.
Ride it out?
Storm surge had to have been 20' higher than the highest point of the island.... unless he was inside something that didn't shatter, or he lashed himself to something with a permanent foundation.... I'd lay odds his body will never be found.
Probably not far off the mark.
I'd truly hate to see this WWII landmark destroyed.
ugggh
I live New Orleans, and I involuntarily shuddered and glanced at the clouds outside when I saw this
better hope they got EVERYBODY off, cuz whether they did or not nobody'll be there when they get back
dittos!
My neighbor was a USAF major. He and his wife stayed in the quarters of a friend who was a DOD civilian who was on vacation in the CONUS.
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