Query: “suggest that residents are fleeing atolls swiftly sinking into the sea.

Relevant passages:
Kiribati <=SEP=> Kiribati ( -LSB- ˌkɪrɪˈbæs -RSB- or -LSB- ˌkɪrɪˈbɑːti -RSB- ) , officially the Republic of Kiribati ( Gilbertese : Ribaberiki Kiribati ) , is an island nation in the central Pacific Ocean . The permanent population is just over 100,000 ( 2011 ) , more than half of whom live on Tarawa Atoll . The nation comprises 33 atolls and reef islands and one raised coral island , Banaba . They have a total land area of 800 km2 and are dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres ( 1,351,000 square miles ) . Their spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian , although the International Date Line is indented to bring the Line Islands in the same day as the Kiribati Islands . The International Date Line circumscribes Kiribati by swinging far to the east , almost reaching the 150 ° W meridian . Kiribati 's easternmost islands , the southern Line Islands , south of Hawaii , have the most advanced time on Earth , UTC +14 hours .   Kiribati became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979 . The capital and now most populated area , South Tarawa , consists of a number of islets , connected by a series of causeways . These comprise about half the area of Tarawa Atoll .   Kiribati is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the IMF and the World Bank , and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999 .

Battle of the Coral Sea <=SEP=> The Battle of the Coral Sea , fought from 4 to 8 May 1942 , was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia , taking place in the Pacific Theater of World War II . The battle is historically significant as the first action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other , as well as the first in which neither side 's ships sighted or fired directly upon the other .   In an attempt to strengthen its defensive position in the South Pacific , Japan decided to invade and occupy Port Moresby ( in New Guinea ) and Tulagi ( in the southeastern Solomon Islands ) . The plan to accomplish this was called Operation MO , and involved several major units of Japan 's Combined Fleet . These included two fleet carriers and a light carrier to provide air cover for the invasion forces . It was under the overall command of Japanese Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue .   The U.S. learned of the Japanese plan through signals intelligence , and sent two United States Navy carrier task forces and a joint Australian-American cruiser force to oppose the offensive . These were under the overall command of American Admiral Frank J. Fletcher .   On 3 -- 4 May , Japanese forces successfully invaded and occupied Tulagi , although several of their supporting warships were sunk or damaged in surprise attacks by aircraft from the U.S. fleet carrier . Now aware of the presence of U.S. carriers in the area , the Japanese fleet carriers advanced towards the Coral Sea with the intention of locating and destroying the Allied naval forces . Beginning on 7 May , the carrier forces from the two sides engaged in airstrikes over two consecutive days . On the first day , the U.S. sank the Japanese light carrier ; meanwhile , the Japanese sank a U.S. destroyer and heavily damaged a fleet oiler ( which was later scuttled ) . The next day , the Japanese fleet carrier was heavily damaged , the U.S. fleet carrier critically damaged ( and later scuttled ) , and Yorktown damaged . With both sides having suffered heavy losses in aircraft and carriers damaged or sunk , the two forces disengaged and retired from the battle area . Because of the loss of carrier air cover , Inoue recalled the Port Moresby invasion fleet , intending to try again later .   Although a tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk , the battle would prove to be a strategic victory for the Allies for several reasons . The battle marked the first time since the start of the war that a major Japanese advance had been checked by the Allies . More importantly , the Japanese fleet carriers Shōkaku and -- the former damaged and the latter with a depleted aircraft complement -- were unable to participate in the Battle of Midway the following month , while Yorktown did participate , ensuring a rough parity in aircraft between the two adversaries and contributing significantly to the U.S. victory in that battle . The severe losses in carriers at Midway prevented the Japanese from reattempting to invade Port Moresby from the ocean and helped prompt their ill-fated land offensive over the Kokoda trail . Two months later , the Allies took advantage of Japan 's resulting strategic vulnerability in the South Pacific and launched the Guadalcanal Campaign ; this , along with the New Guinea Campaign , eventually broke Japanese defenses in the South Pacific and was a significant contributing factor to Japan 's ultimate defeat in World War II .

Bikini Atoll <=SEP=> Bikini Atoll ( pronounced -LSB- ˈbɪkᵻˌniː -RSB- or -LSB- bᵻˈkiːni -RSB- Marshallese : Pikinni , -LSB- pyuhKhuy ( n ) n ^ : yuyuy -RSB- , meaning coconut place ) is an atoll in the Marshall Islands which consists of 23 islands totaling 3.4 sqmi surrounding a deep 229.4 sqmi central lagoon . It is at the northern end of the Ralik Chain , approximately 87 km northwest of Ailinginae Atoll and 850 km northwest of Majuro . Within Bikini Atoll , Bikini , Eneu , Nam , and Enidrik islands comprise just over 70 % of the land area . Bikini and Eneu are the only islands of the atoll that hosted a permanent population . Bikini Island is the northeastern most and largest islet . Before World War II , the atoll was known by its German name , Eschscholtz Atoll .