Laysan Island after the Tsunami

View of shoreline looking towards the National Marine Fisheries Service camp. A tsunami generated by a powerful earthquake off the coast of Japan struck Laysan island late on Thursday, March 10th and continued for the next few hours into the early morning hours of March 11th. The National Marine Fisheries Service & FWS Laysan team did their first walk around the island on March 12. They reported extensive damage to the island, with the wave line extending well into the vegetation. The entire coast experienced wash over, with the north, west and east shores experiencing 100% of coast washed over to vegetation. Image taken from USFWS Pacific Region Flickr page.