Fongafale

Fongafale is the biggest of Tuvalu's Funafuti islets. It is a 12-kilometer-long, 10-to-400-metre-wide strip of land, with the South Pacific Ocean and reef to the east and the protected lagoon to the west. The Tengako peninsula lies in the north, and Funafuti International Airport extends from northeast to southwest on the island's widest point, with the hamlet and administrative center of Vaiaku on the lagoon side.

On Fongafale, the Funafuti Kaupule is in charge of approving the construction of dwellings or expansions to existing buildings on private land, while the Areas Management Committee is in charge of lands leased by the government.

Funafuti was in the path of Cyclone Bebe in 1972. Cyclone Bebe destroyed 90% of the buildings and trees on Fongafale. The storm surge formed a wall of coral rubble roughly 10 miles (16 km) long and 10 feet (3.0 m) to 20 feet (6.1 m) deep at the bottom along the ocean side of Fongafale and Funafala.

Location: Funafuti atoll, Tuvalu