Tegua

Tegua Tugue
Island
Location of Tegua in Torres Islands
Tegua Location in Vanuatu
Coordinates: 13°14′47″S166°37′33″E / 13.24639°S 166.62583°E / -13.24639; 166.62583
Country	Vanuatu
Province	Torba Province
Area
• Total	30.8 km2 (11.9 sq mi)
	[1]
Population  (2009)
• Total	58
• Density	1.9/km2 (4.9/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+11 (VUT)

Tegua is an island in Vanuatu's Torres Islands chain, located in Torba Province.

Geography

The island spans 7 km by 6.5 km; on the eastern side of the island is Lateu Bay indented 1.8 km. Ngwel Island is located 600 meters off the west coast of Tegua Island. ^[2]

Population

The only village is Lotew (or Lateu), with a population of 58. ^[3] About 100 residents of Tegua were evacuated by the government because rising sea levels were flooding their island.

One geological study found that of, four islands in the group, Tegua had the slowest inferred uplift rate, at 0.7 mm/yr for southeastern Tegua. A "narrow E-W trending block has been down-dropped relative to the rest of the isle.

Name

The name Tegua [teɣua] comes from the Mota language, which was used as the primary language of the Melanesian Mission. Locally, the island is called Tugue [tʉˈɣʉə] in Lo-Toga, the language spoken on the island, and Töyö [tɵˈjɵ] in neighboring Hiw. These names all come from a Proto-Torres-Banks form *Teɣua.

References

1. "Vanuatu". Haos Blong Volkeno. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
2. Seech, John. "Tegua Island, Vanuatu - John Seach". Vanuatu Travel. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
3. "2009 National Census of Population and Housing: Summary Release" (PDF). Vanuatu National Statistics Office. 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2010.

External links

• “The Mystery of the Sinking South Pacific Islands” by Gerald Traufetter, Der Spiegel international, 15/6/2012.