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Nias
Nias (/ˈniːəs/ NEE-əss; Indonesian: Pulau Nias [puˈlau ˈnias], Nias: Tanö Niha [ˈtanə ˈniha]) is an island located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago (Kepulauan Nias) of which the island is the centre, but also includes the Batu Islands to the southeast and the small Hinako Islands to the west.
Nias Island covers an area of 5,573.27 km2 (2,151.85 sq mi) (including the Batu Islands to the south and minor offshore islands). It is mostly a lowland area rising to around 800 m (2,600 ft) above sea level. There were 756,338 inhabitants on the island (including the Batu Islands and minor offshore islands) at the 2010 Census; at the 2015 Intermediate Census this had risen to 798,506 and the 2020 Census documented a total of 880,550. The official estimate as of mid-2024 was 946,746; it is officially projected to be 962,819 in mid 2025.
It is located in a chain of islands parallel to the west coast of Sumatra; Simeulue is about 140 km (87 mi) northwest, and the Batu Islands (which are administered as part of Nias and have an ethnically similar population) are located about 80 km (50 mi) southeast; the chain is then followed in the Mentawai Islands further south. This chain, which resurfaces in Nusa Tenggara in the mountainous islands of Sumba and Timor, is the forearc of the South Sumatra Basin along the Sunda Trench subduction zone.
At Nias, the oceanic plate is being obliquely subducted under the Sunda Plate at the rapid rate of 52 mm (2.0 in) a year (Milsom).
The first inhabitants of Nias were Australomelanesoid people which can be traced back as early as 10,000 BC. They were later superseded by the Austronesian people which ultimately originated from Taiwan. The name of the island derives from the word used by the islanders to refer to themselves, niha ("human"). In the local language (Li Niha), the island is called Tanö Niha (literally the land of humans).
During World War II, Nias was briefly occupied by an unrecognized Nazi state proclaimed by a group of escaped German prisoners calling themselves the Free Republic of Nias.
On 26 December 2004, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake struck a few kilometers north of the island, creating tsunamis as high as 10 metres (33 ft). 122 people were killed and hundreds more were rendered homeless.
On 28 March 2005, the island was again hit by the 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake, initially presumed to be an aftershock of the 2004 quake, but now regarded as the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Indonesia and among the top 10 most powerful recorded worldwide since 1900. At least 800 people were reported dead, with the possibility of more than 2,000 casualties. Hundreds of buildings were toppled and many thousands of people were made homeless. In 2007, almost two years after the earthquake, there were still tens of thousands of internally displaced persons living in camps throughout Nias.
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Nias AI simulator
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Nias
Nias (/ˈniːəs/ NEE-əss; Indonesian: Pulau Nias [puˈlau ˈnias], Nias: Tanö Niha [ˈtanə ˈniha]) is an island located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago (Kepulauan Nias) of which the island is the centre, but also includes the Batu Islands to the southeast and the small Hinako Islands to the west.
Nias Island covers an area of 5,573.27 km2 (2,151.85 sq mi) (including the Batu Islands to the south and minor offshore islands). It is mostly a lowland area rising to around 800 m (2,600 ft) above sea level. There were 756,338 inhabitants on the island (including the Batu Islands and minor offshore islands) at the 2010 Census; at the 2015 Intermediate Census this had risen to 798,506 and the 2020 Census documented a total of 880,550. The official estimate as of mid-2024 was 946,746; it is officially projected to be 962,819 in mid 2025.
It is located in a chain of islands parallel to the west coast of Sumatra; Simeulue is about 140 km (87 mi) northwest, and the Batu Islands (which are administered as part of Nias and have an ethnically similar population) are located about 80 km (50 mi) southeast; the chain is then followed in the Mentawai Islands further south. This chain, which resurfaces in Nusa Tenggara in the mountainous islands of Sumba and Timor, is the forearc of the South Sumatra Basin along the Sunda Trench subduction zone.
At Nias, the oceanic plate is being obliquely subducted under the Sunda Plate at the rapid rate of 52 mm (2.0 in) a year (Milsom).
The first inhabitants of Nias were Australomelanesoid people which can be traced back as early as 10,000 BC. They were later superseded by the Austronesian people which ultimately originated from Taiwan. The name of the island derives from the word used by the islanders to refer to themselves, niha ("human"). In the local language (Li Niha), the island is called Tanö Niha (literally the land of humans).
During World War II, Nias was briefly occupied by an unrecognized Nazi state proclaimed by a group of escaped German prisoners calling themselves the Free Republic of Nias.
On 26 December 2004, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake struck a few kilometers north of the island, creating tsunamis as high as 10 metres (33 ft). 122 people were killed and hundreds more were rendered homeless.
On 28 March 2005, the island was again hit by the 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake, initially presumed to be an aftershock of the 2004 quake, but now regarded as the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Indonesia and among the top 10 most powerful recorded worldwide since 1900. At least 800 people were reported dead, with the possibility of more than 2,000 casualties. Hundreds of buildings were toppled and many thousands of people were made homeless. In 2007, almost two years after the earthquake, there were still tens of thousands of internally displaced persons living in camps throughout Nias.