Cheduba Island

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Cheduba Island (also known as Manaung Island) is an island in the Bay of Bengal close to Ramree Island belonging to Burma. Situated in the Arakan Province it has an area of approximately 202 km². Pop. (1983) 63,761. The population consists chiefly of Burmans and Arakanese peoples. A stopping place on the historic coastal trade route from Bengal by which Indian civilization arrived in Burma. Historical records show that an earthquake of a magnitude of 8.5 to 9.0 hit off the western coast of Burma in April 1762, and reports by eyewitnesses described a tsunami which wiped the island out.^[1] In 1881, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in the Bay of Bengal caused "broad massive flames of fire" to be emitted on the island.^[2] In the 1780s, after the Burman conquest of the area, Cheduba became a province of Arakan. The island, along with many other islands in the area, was evacuated and occupied by the Japanese during WWII.^[3] The village of Cheduba, located on the northeast coast, is linked to the village of Kyaukpyu on nearby Ramree Island by steamer. Most of the terrain is flat and the island is only slightly above sea level and the dominant vegetation is tropical rainforest. The main economic activities on the island are farming and raising cattle. There are mud cones that emit steam and sulfurous fumes on the island, which indicate some volcanic activity. There are also seepages of oil and gas.^[4]