The Republic of Maldives consists of 1190 small coral islands, grouped into 26 atolls. Only 200 islands are inhabited.

On December 26, 2004, the tsunami struck the Maldives. This natural disaster had serious economic, social and environmental consequences. Of the 200 inhabited islands, 13 were completely destroyed, and 56 were severely damaged, including the Island of Vilufushi on the Atola Thaa.
 

Residential buildings and infrastructure were seriously damaged. All the survivors had to be evacuated to the neighboring Island of Burundi, west of Vilufushi. The government of the Maldives decided to reconstruct the entire island and significantly expand it through shallow reefs.
 

During the design, several alternative options for accomplishing the task were considered. As a result, a plan was adopted, according to which coral sand was extracted from the area near the northern edge of the Vilufushi reef. This sand was used to fill the area undergoing reconstruction.
 

The reconstruction included:
 

• Removing all garbage from the reconstruction area.

• Dredging and remediation of 1 million cubic meters of coral sand from the reef.

• Anti-wave structures around the island from rocks.

• Dredging of the new harbor is 3 meters below sea level.

• Constructing a 350-meter quay wall using prefabricated reinforced concrete elements.

• Constructing a 350-meter breakwater for protection against wave penetration.

• Monitoring during dredging and reclamation.

 

The Maldives have a very extensive marine biodiversity which requires appropriate protection through special measures, in particular during dredging and melioration. To monitor changes in environmental parameters with adverse effects, a special monitoring program was conducted.