Gilbert and Ellice Islands Ellice Islands", which replaced laws created during the BWTP. The Phoenix Islands were added to the colony in 1937. Banaba Island (Ocean Island) remained the headquarters of the colony until the British evacuation in 1942 during the Pacific War when Ocean Island and the Gilbert Islands were occupied by the Japanese. The United States forces landed in Funafuti on 2 October 1942 and on Nanumea and Nukufetau in August 1943 and constructed an airfield on each island and other bases. The atolls of Tuvalu acted as a staging post during the preparation for the Battle of Tarawa and the Battle
1978 Pacific hurricane season 1978 Pacific hurricane season The 1978 Pacific hurricane season officially began May 15, 1978, in the eastern Pacific, June 1, 1978, in the central Pacific, and officially ended on November 30, 1978. These dates conventionally delimit the period of time when tropical cyclones form in the eastern north Pacific Ocean. Activity this year was slightly above-average, with eighteen named storms forming. Five of those were tropical storms, thirteen were hurricanes, and six were major hurricanes that reached Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale. In the Central Pacific, a tropical depression and a major hurricane formed. Also, this season