An isolated Hawaiian island has disappeared underwater after passing a powerful hurricane earlier this month, according to federal officials citing satellite images.

East Island, a strip of gravel and sand northwest of Honolulu, "appears to be under water" after the passage of Hurricane Walaka in the state, said Tuesday Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument.

The island played a key role in the survival of seals and sea turtles in trouble, officials said, who "are working to better understand the implications" of the island's immersion status. .

"There is no doubt that it is the most important island for nesting sea turtles," said Charles Littnan, a biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, at the Honolulu Civil Beat. , who first reported the disappearance of the island.

The 11-acre island has served as nesting grounds for half of the world's Hawaiian sea turtles, Civil Beat said. It served as a birthplace for about one-seventh of all Hawaiian monk seals.

Nathan Eagle of The Civil Beat has published before and after photos of the island on Twitter.

The seals and turtles that depend on the island had probably left for the season before the hurricane, but it is unclear whether the east of the island will return on each return and what will be the reaction of the displaced animals, Littnan said at the site.

According to HuffPost, East Island was the second largest island half a mile long by half a kilometer from an atoll in Honolulu, known as French Frigate Shoals, which is part of the National Monument. Papahanaumokuakea seaman.

The loss of the island was originally a "sacred" moment for Chip Fletcher, a climatologist from the University of Hawaii who spoke with Huffpost. He said such events could become more common.

"The likelihood of such events occurring increases with climate change," he told the website.

A landmark report this month has linked climate change to the intensity of hurricanes, but not to their frequency.

Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner

More: Extreme heat, deluges, economic difficulties: what the UN climate report says for North America

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