Banyak Islands

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The Banyak Islands are a group of mostly uninhabited islands located between Simeulue and Nias off the western coast of Sumatra in the Aceh Province, Indonesia containing 99 small islands.

The largest island in the group is Tuangku (Great Banyak), with the main town being Alaban. Two other major islands located either side of Tuangku are Bangkura and Bago. Tuangku is separated from Bangkaru by a fault line.

With an area of 123 square miles (319 square km), the group lies north of Nias and 18 miles (29 km) west of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. The island group has a population of 6,050. Most of the islands are uninhabited. Only Tuangku, Bangkura and Bago has any significant population.

The island group was affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and following tsunami with the death. The epicentre was located a few hundred kilometres north of the group and were badly affected by the tsunami. Along with Simeulue and Nias, it absorbed the shockwaves and shielded a lot of damage from the Mentawai Islands. The eastern islands were affected the most due to the poor construction of buildings; timber instead of concrete.

The 2005 Sumatra earthquake was located slightly east of Bangkaru which was the closest island to the epicentre. The island was hit by a small tsunami, however, suffered little damage due to the small amount of inhabitants on the island. There were no casualties or injuries. Due to the split between Tuangku and Bangkaru, the earthquake caused Bangkaru to rise and Tuangku to drop. Wells became contaminated by saltwater following a one metre high surge which hit the villages.

The area is popular among tourists on surfing holidays with some of the better waves being witnessed at Bangkaru due to the larger fetch. Other forms of industry on the island include fishing.