Tsunami

Amid the chaos and destruction this story from Midway atoll seems to have gone unnoticed...
Midway, as it's name suggests is about midway across the Pacific Ocean, some 2800 nm from California and 2200 from Japan. This gave the few people staying on Midway approximately 4 hours to prepare and to get to high ground - aka the third floor of Charlie Hotel - to escape the coming wave.

source: US Fish and Wildlife Service

The atoll consists of 3 islands, Sand, Eastern and Spit Islands within an outer reef of 5 miles in diameter, covering a total of c.1500 acres.

These islands are home to millions of sea birds, including:

• a single pair of short tail albatross, Phoebastria albatrus,
• some 450 thousand pairs of Laysan albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis, one of which Wisdom was successfully raising a chick at the tender age of 60+ years,
• more than 25 000 black footed albatross, Phoebastria nigripes,
• some 100 or so Laysan ducks, Anas laysanensis,
• Bonin Petrels, Pterodroma hypoleuca,
• and the odd monk seal, Monachus schauinslandi. 

 Busy islands!

The biggest wave is reported to have been nearly 5 feet, which doesn't seem much but when the highest feature is a 3 story building, 2 m is huge. It is also huge when you are a ground nesting bird and that you have eggs or chicks.

So when the wave came over and washed over 60% of Eastern Island and 20% of Sand Island, the birds were in serious danger. Some 10' of thousands of chicks and over 1000 adult and sud-adult Laysan albatross are thought to have died as a result of it. Wisdom is on the missing list, but it is unclear if she has just flown away or has been harmed. [Wisdom has since been seen and is well]

Two chicks and adult Laysan Albatross awaiting rescue - Refuge biologist, Pete Leary.

The short tail chick got pushed about and had rough ride but was seen found and returned to its nest the next day.

Down but not out: the Short Tailed Albatross - Refuge biologist, Pete Leary.

Amid the tonnes of debris washed up ...

Birds in debris - Pete Leary/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

... were thousands of fish and two green turtles. They all got washed up by the wave, and whilst the fish were dead, the turtles were only stranded...

A green turtle out oh its comfort zone - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

and a little help to get them to the beach enabled them to take back to the seas.

A helping hand and a little flipper warm up before the big plunge - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Who would have thought that turtle would get caught up in this and that the (adult) birds wouldn't take off...

All of these pictures are courtesy of  the US Fish & Wildlife service - Pacific Region. More pictures available here!