SLIDESHOW: Tsunami Damages Northwest Hawaiian Islands Refuge
Pictures from biologists reveal the devastation caused by the March 11 tsunami on protected atolls northwest of Hawaii.
Birds were trapped by debris, chicks separated from their parents and turtles stranded on land.
Surges of up to five feet high hit the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which are located roughly 1,200 miles northwest of Kauai, and the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Researchers will survey damage to coral reefs and underwater habitats later this year.
Researchers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimate:
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110,000 Laysan and Black Footed Albatross chicks — roughly 22 percent of this year’s albatross babies — were killed on the three islands of Midway Atoll. At least 2,000 adults also died.
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Thousands of dead fish were found in the interior of Midway’s Eastern Island. Three live green turtles were rescued from the middle of the island.
See a slideshow of the damage at Midway Atoll:
