A whole island in Hawaii was wiped out by a powerful hurricane, the Daily Mail reported.
The East Island eroded overnight during the powerful Hurricane Walaka that hit the region at the beginning of this month.
Hurricane Walaka, one of the most powerful Pacific storms ever recorded, has erased East Island, which is part of French Frigate Shoals in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. https://t.co/x9moCB1WA5 @NathanEagle #HIwx #Hawaii pic.twitter.com/BckfalPR90
— Honolulu Civil Beat (@CivilBeat) October 23, 2018
The island was homes to green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals, which are endangered.
Before and after images of the space, that surfaced online have shocked thousands of people, including experts.
East Island: Remote Hawaiian island wiped out by devastating hurricane pic.twitter.com/HliYWUAhOQ
— Eric The Red (@millerman14) October 25, 2018
"I had a holt s**t moment, thinking 'Oh my God, it’s gone,'" Chip Fletcher, a climate scientist at the University of Hawaii, told the Honolulu Civil Beat.
"It’s one more chink in the wall of the network of ecosystem diversity on this planet that is being dismantled."
The island, which is part of the French Frigate Shoals in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, was expected to disappear but gradually over time.
But it took a big hit when the storm struck. Experts warn as climate change makes storm stronger, it will only become more frequent and cause more damage to islands like this one.
"The take home message is climate change is real and it’s happening now," Randy Kosaki, the monument’s deputy superintendent for research and field operations for NOAA, told Honolulu CB.
