Tsunami Destroys Laysan Island Work Site

View of shoreline south of camp looking north. Papahānumokuākea Marine National Monument and Laysan Island was struck by the tsunami on March 10 about 11:45 pm. The tsunami waves reached up into the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) camp co-located with the FWS field camp, destroying the NMFS kitchen tent along with the food and water supplies for their camp. The FWS camp had water under one of the personnel tents and within 50 feet of the hurricane shelter where all island residents stayed during the event. Most of the NMFS food buckets and water jugs were washed away, and they were still seeing buckets and jugs being washed back to shore. The entire coast experienced wash over, with the north, west and east shores experiencing 100% of coast washed over to vegetation line or beyond.