I was using Google Earth to look at some Marine Corps history recently. I looked at Tarawa Atoll, the island of Betio. It is CARPETED with dwellings. The island is about a half a mile by a couple of miles at the most, and it's highest point can't be much more than thirty or forty feet above sea level.
I was astonished to learn that more than thirty thousand people live there today. Some of these islands are very low-lying, and very crowded.
I’ve been to Tarawa. That number of people have learned to be supported by regular shipments of food, fuel, etc by ship and plane. There is NO high ground there. When we were there twenty years ago the culture was still transitioning from living ‘island culture’ to a city culture.
BTW, the monument to the American troops who fought and fell at Tarawa was a disgrace when we visited it. I hope that has been rectified in the ensuing years.
The Japanese cemetery was very dignified and well-maintained.
Also the only American product that I saw there was beer. Every motorized item was Japanese, from outboard motor to auto.