{"id":59799,"date":"2025-06-04T23:28:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T21:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=59799"},"modified":"2026-06-04T00:22:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:22:34","slug":"rongelap-a-former-spanish-paradise-from-which-people-fled-due-to-an-invisible-danger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/06\/04\/rongelap-a-former-spanish-paradise-from-which-people-fled-due-to-an-invisible-danger\/","title":{"rendered":"Rongelap, a former Spanish paradise from which people fled due to an invisible danger"},"content":{"rendered":"

On January 1, 1528, the Spanish navigator \u00c1lvaro de Saavedra discovered an atoll in the Pacific Ocean, a paradise-like place.<\/p>\n

Tinian, the former Spanish island from which the atomic bombs flew in 1945<\/a><\/rel>
\nKosrae: this is the forgotten island that was the most remote territory of the Spanish Empire<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

This atoll, along with three others (Ailinginae, Toke, and Utirik), was named as Islas de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Islands)<\/strong> when it was discovered very close to January 6, the Christian feast of Epiphany. Rongelap was part of the Spanish Empire for 357 years<\/strong> until the German Empire annexed the atoll along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1885. In 1914, the Japanese Empire took over the islands, which passed into the hands of the United States in 1944<\/strong>, until the Marshall Islands became independent in 1979.<\/p>\n

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Mushroom cloud from the 1954 Castle Bravo test (Photo: Federal government of the United States<\/a>).<\/div>\n

The lives of the inhabitants of Rongelap changed forever on March 1, 1954.<\/strong> That day, the United States carried out the atomic test known as Castle Bravo on Bikini Atoll, about 125 km west of Rongelap. The atomic blast was more powerful than expected, and the inhabitants of Rongelap were affected by radioactive fallout<\/strong> that caused all kinds of illnesses. Evacuated to Kwajalein by the US government, the islanders were not able to return to their homes until 1957, when they were informed that Rongelap was now a safe place. They were lied to. For 28 years, the islanders suffered the terrible effects of radiation<\/strong> without the US government acknowledging the damage.<\/p>\n

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Aerial view of Rongelap, with the runway of its old airport, now abandoned (Photo: AFP).<\/div>\n

Finally, in the absence of government aid, in 1985 the environmental organization Greenpeace organized an evacuation of the 350 inhabitants of Rongelap<\/strong>, with three trips on its ship Rainbow Warrior to Kwajalein Atoll, where the inhabitants of Rongelap remain today. Today Kwajalein Atoll is uninhabited.<\/strong> Only three lifeguards remain there, taking turns checking for the effects of radiation. Last Sunday, Sailing Sweet Ruca<\/a> posted a video visiting the atoll and showing its current state<\/strong>:<\/p>\n