Kyle Sooley-Brookings

Jun 17, 20191 min

Island That Was Washed Away by a Hurricane is Reappearing

East Island in Hawaii is reappearing, 7 months after storm surge from Hurricane Walaka washed most of it away.

Hurricane Walaka struck the area in October of 2018. Satellite images from May show the island slowly reappearing.

No one lived on the island, it was inhabited by wildlife.

The island, a sand and gravel spit that formed part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, was a habitat for Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles, both of which are endangered species.

In April 1946 it was badly damaged by a tsunami, and in August 1950 it had to be evacuated due to a typhoon warning.