Milandhoo was uninhabited in 1997, when the Maldive's Minister of Atolls Abdulla Hameed launched a project to construct houses there and relocate residents from the neighboring island Maakandoodhoo, where the water had become contaminated.

[2] The resettlement was hastened in 2004, when the Boxing Day tsunami severely damaged Maakandoodhoo.

The island is 235.12 km (146 mi; 127 nmi) north of the country's capital, Malé.

Bottle gourd plants, ironwood, sea hibiscus and mangroves are common nearby, while great morinda and coconut palm are rare.

[citation needed] In southwestern Milandhoo is a pond, Rayy Kulhi ("Red Pond"), so named because debris from bottle gourd plants and mangroves in the surrounding swamp redden its water.