Kinbidhoo (Thaa Atoll)

Kinbidhoo
Island Summary
Belongs to	Thaa Atoll
Location	Longitude= 73° 03' 52" E, Latitude= 02° 09' 40" N
Population	1218
Length	930m
Width	675m
Distance from Malé	228.05km

Kinbidhoo (Dhivehi: ކިނބިދޫ) is one of the inhabited islands of Thaa Atoll. In the order of the inhabited islands, Kinbidhoo is the 12th island and the island code is N-12. Kinbidhoo is situated closest to Veymadoo the capital of Tha Atoll.
School of Kinbidhoo is Kinbidhoo School that is recently recognized for its high performance in IGCSE O' Level results.

Kinbidhoo was struck by the tsunami that followed the Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26, 2004, which swept across the western coast of Sumatra and the whole island flooded completely, destroying some houses and farms, although there were no casualties.

Archaeology

There were important Buddhist ruins in an area of this island. The islanders call this place Veiru.The most cospicuous was a large Stupa whose stonse had been removed and looked like a very steep small hill. Muhammad Ismāīl Dīdī, led a Maldivian expedition to this island in order to explore the Buddhist ruins in the 1960s. Some excavations were conducted and a report on the Buddhist remains of Kimbidu Island was published.

Unfortunately the Buddhist site was not protected after excavation and has been heavily vandalized in recent times. The steep hill that marked the place where the ancient Stupa was has been almost flattened out. Also place is facing erosion.

References

• Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Barcelona 1999, ISBN 84 7254 801 5

• Divehi Tārīkhah Au Alikameh. Divehi Bahai Thagaafa Khiduma kura Qawmi Majlis. Male'.
• http://www.tsunamimaldives.mv/?action=situationAssesment&do=atolls&sname=Th