As Jakarta Faces Imminent Sinking By 2050, Tuvalu Is Being Abandoned By Its Citizens, Fleeing To Australia

JAKARTA - Pacific nations are raising their vigilance for a tsunami following the devastating 8.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Kamchatka, Russia, on Tuesday morning, July 30th.

Of the many countries, Tuvalu is one of those prepared, or perhaps unwillingly prepared, to respond to this natural disaster, given that its citizens have long faced the uncertainty of being submerged by high tides.

According to Mirror UK, Tuvalu is located approximately 2,600 miles west of Hawaii or approximately 3,000 miles from mainland Australia.

At only five meters (16 feet) above sea level, this 26-square-kilometer country continues to face an uncertain future due to rising sea levels. This is further exacerbated by the 8.7 magnitude earthquake in Russia that triggered the tsunami.

Scientists at NASA have predicted that much of Tuvalu's land and infrastructure will be submerged by rising sea levels by 2050.

By 2100, 95 percent of the capital, Funafuti, which houses 60 percent of Tuvalu's 10,643 residents, could be submerged at high tide.

The BBC reports that more than a third of Tuvaluans have already voted for the world's first climate visa, allowing them to permanently migrate to Australia.

The first wave of applicants opened on June 16, 2025, with registrations exceeding the target. Only 280 visas are awarded to Tuvaluan citizens through a randomized ballot held annually.

The visa program has been designated by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs as a crucial response to the need for climate-related displacement.

Tuvaluans holding climate visas will have access to Medicare (Australia's state-funded healthcare system), childcare subsidies, and the right to study at Australian schools. Essentially, this visa is a golden ticket to a new life.

At the same time, Australia and New Zealand have funded development in Tuvalu, strengthening land and creating new upland areas to address the threat of sea level rise.

This development is part of the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project, which focuses on protecting the country's shrinking coastline as sea levels continue to rise.

This climate threat also haunts the Maldives. Scientists warn that approximately 80 percent of the South Asian nation will be uninhabitable by 2050.

Male, the capital of the Maldives, located in the Indian Ocean, recognizes the threat of sea level rise by initiating a floating city project as a form of mitigation.

Despite the project's existence, sea level rise remains a serious threat and could drown Male.

Jakarta is also not immune to climate threats. Scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore warn that most of Jakarta will be uninhabitable by 2030. This was stated by NTU researcher Kian Goh in a study published in the journal Nature Sustainability, as reported by The Washington Post.

Jakarta was also included in a Sciencing report listing 10 major cities at risk of sinking. Forty percent of Indonesia's former capital is already below sea level due to land subsidence of approximately 30.5 cm per year.

The Indonesian Minister of Environment (LH), Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, also stated in January 2025 that Jakarta would sink by 2050 due to rapid groundwater subsidence and rising sea levels.

On the other hand, the Netherlands is also one of the countries at risk of sinking. This is not surprising – the lowest point in the European country is 22 feet below sea level.

The Netherlands is part of a group of countries below sea level due to its low-lying, flat location and proximity to the North Sea.