Chuuk State

Flag

Map of Chuuk State

Coordinates: 7°25′N 151°47′E / 7.417°N 151.783°ECoordinates: 7°25′N 151°47′E / 7.417°N 151.783°E

Country

Federated States of Micronesia

Government

• Governor

Johnson Elimo (since 2011)

Area

• Total

127 km² (49 sq mi)

Population

• Total

54,595

• Density

430/km² (1,100/sq mi)

ISO 3166 code

FM-TRK

Chuuk State (also known as Truk) is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The other states are Kosrae State, Pohnpei State, and Yap State. It consists of several island groups:

Chuuk Atoll
Nomwisofo
Hall Islands
Namonuito Atoll (Magur Islands) (northwest)
Pattiw (Western Islands)
Eastern Islands (Upper Mortlock Islands)
Mortlock Islands

History

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2013)

Further information: Chuuk Lagoon#History

Chuuk was one of six districts of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) which were administered by the United States under charter from the United Nations from the end of the Second World War to the mid-1980s. The termination of U.S. administration of the Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Mariana Islands districts of the TTPI occurred on November 3, 1986. The Federated States of Micronesia, including Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae, and Pohnpei, was established in 1979 and signed a Compact of Free Association with the U.S. (effective November 3, 1986).

On July 2, 2002, heavy rains from Tropical Storm Chataan caused more than thirty landslides that killed forty-seven people and injured dozens others, in the state's deadliest weather disaster. The landslides occurred throughout the day, some within just minutes of each other.

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Geography

To the west is Yap State. To the east are Pohnpei State and Kosrae State is further east.

The main population center of Chuuk State is the Chuuk Lagoon, a large archipelago with mountainous islands surrounded by a string of islets on a barrier reef.^{[citation needed]} The two major geographical and dialectic divisions of the Chuuk Lagoon are Faichuuk, the western islands, and Namoneas, the eastern islands.

Chuuk State also includes several more sparsely populated "outer island" groups, including the Mortlock Islands to the southeast, the Hall Islands (Pafeng) to the north, Namonuito Atoll to the northwest, and the Pattiw Region to west. The Pattiw Region is of particular interest in that it has some of the most traditional islands in the Pacific and is culturally related to outer islands of Yap. This group includes the islands of Pollap, Tamatam, Poluwat, and Houk. Today you can still find traditional master navigators—Poluwat and Pollap are considered to have some of the best navigators and ocean-going outrigger canoes in the Pacific. In the islands of the Pattiw Region, and some of the Islands of Yap, you will still find today the last two remaining schools of navigation, Weriyeng and Faaluush. Visiting the Pattiw Region in the west, however, is difficult due to the lack of reliable transportation. Houk probably has the most accessible airstrip in the Pattiw Region, with planes landing every one or two weeks.

Climate

Climate data for Weno, Chuuk
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	33 (91)	32 (90)	32 (90)	33 (92)	33 (91)	33 (92)	33 (92)	33 (92)	34 (93)	33 (92)	33 (91)	33 (91)	34 (93)
Average high °C (°F)	29.9 (85.8)	29.9 (85.8)	30.2 (86.4)	30.4 (86.7)	30.7 (87.3)	30.7 (87.3)	30.6 (87.1)	30.7 (87.3)	30.7 (87.3)	30.7 (87.3)	30.7 (87.3)	30.2 (86.4)	30.4 (86.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	27.4 (81.3)	27.5 (81.5)	27.6 (81.7)	27.7 (81.9)	27.8 (82)	27.7 (81.9)	27.4 (81.3)	27.4 (81.3)	27.5 (81.5)	27.6 (81.7)	27.7 (81.9)	27.6 (81.7)	27.6 (81.7)
Average low °C (°F)	24.9 (76.8)	25.0 (77)	25.1 (77.2)	25.0 (77)	24.9 (76.8)	24.6 (76.3)	24.2 (75.6)	24.2 (75.6)	24.2 (75.6)	24.3 (75.7)	24.6 (76.3)	25.0 (77)	24.7 (76.5)
Record low °C (°F)	21 (69)	21 (70)	22 (71)	22 (71)	21 (70)	21 (70)	21 (70)	21 (70)	20 (68)	19 (66)	21 (70)	21 (70)	19 (66)
Precipitation mm (inches)	228.1 (8.98)	163.1 (6.42)	229.9 (9.05)	291.1 (11.46)	354.1 (13.94)	300.7 (11.84)	365 (14.37)	349.8 (13.77)	306.6 (12.07)	361.4 (14.23)	281.9 (11.10)	293.4 (11.55)	3,525 (138.78)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	14.8	12.2	14.9	16.2	21.2	20.3	20.8	21.0	18.6	20.0	20.0	18.8	218.8
% humidity	78.7	77.7	78.7	81.0	82.6	82.9	83.9	83.2	83.0	83.1	81.9	80.8	81.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours	195.3	197.8	217.0	195.0	192.2	180.0	195.3	195.3	177.0	161.2	162.0	167.4	2,235.5
Source #1: Hong Kong Observatory (sun 1961-1990)^[1]
Source #2: NOAA ^[2]

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Demographics

Chuuk is the most populous of the FSM's states.^{[citation needed]}

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Culture

Jesuit mission at Weno

The New York Province of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, maintains a mission school on the island of Weno in Chuuk. Xavier High School is housed at the former Japanese communications center. It is a coeducational institution, drawing students from the all island groups of the Federated States of Micronesia, as well as the Republic of Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Teachers are both Jesuit and lay and come from Micronesia, the U.S., Indonesia, Japan, and Australia. All lay teachers are volunteers.

Spirit Possession

Although Chuuk is an overwhelmingly Christian society, traditional beliefs in spirit possession by the dead still exist. These spirits overwhelmingly possess women and spirit possession is usually brought on by family conflicts. The spirits, speaking through the women, typically admonish family members to treat each other better.^[3]

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