Ebeye

Ebeye is the most populous island of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, as well as the centre for Marshallese culture in the Ralik Chain of the archipelago. Settled on 80 acres (360,000 sq m) of land, it has a population of more than 15,000. Over 50% of the population is estimated to be under the age of 18. Some of the residents of Ebeye are refugees or descendants of refugees from the effects of the cataclysmic 15-megaton Castle Bravo nuclear test at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. The detonation unexpectedly rained nuclear fallout and two inches of radioactive snow on nearby Rongelap Atoll, which had not been evacuated as had Bikini. The 1954 American authorities then evacuated Rongelap and returned in 1957 with extensive medical surveillance. In 1985, Greenpeace evacuated the inhabitants of Rongelap to Mejato (an island in Kwajalein Atoll). Ebeye was the final destination for many of them.