This remote Hawaiian island was just completely wiped off the map :: WRAL.com

By Herb Scribner, Deseret News

A Hawaiian island is gone thanks to a powerful hurricane that swept through the region earlier this month.

What happened: Hurricane Walaka's East Island vanished from its location in Hawaii in October, The Guardian reports.

• The remote gravel and sand island on a coral reef. Scientists captured images of the area where the 11-acre island once stood. It's gone now.
• "I uttered a swear word. I had a 'holy cow!' Moment, somewhat in disbelief that it had disappeared, "said Chip Fletcher, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Hawaii.
• The Civil Beat's Nathan Eagle shared a before-and-after image on Twitter.

How they found it: Fletcher and his fellow researchers set out to capture images and learn more about its age.

• "Fletcher said," The island was probably one to two thousand years old, and it was so bad, "Fletcher said. "We wanted to monitor the island so we are disappointed it has gone, but we have learned more about it. I thought the island would be around, but it was far more fragile than I appreciated. The top, middle and bottom of it has gone. "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Pw4aejtUw

The future: It's unclear if the island will come back.

• The seals and turtles who use the island for the season. It's unclear how many animals will return, USA Today reports.

Bigger picture: Fletcher told HuffPost

• "This is not surprising when you consider the bad luck of a hurricane going into the background of these ecosystems," he said. "The probability of occurrences like this goes up with climate change."