The island that returnedSourced
A hurricane nearly erased this island; moving sand began to bring it back.
Hawaii's East Island was reduced to a narrow sandbar by Hurricane Walaka in 2018. Natural sediment movement then rebuilt part of it, and by 2024 it had recovered roughly 60 percent of its former area.
An island's outline can keep changing after the storm.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
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East Island (Hawaii) · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-02