Hōlei Sea Arch collapses in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
The exact time of the collapse is unknown and could have occurred when the park was temporarily closed during Tropical Storm Nolo.
The iconic Hōlei Sea Arch in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park has collapsed into the Pacific Ocean, marking the latest transformation of the park’s remote and rugged coastline.
Visitors are urged to stay back from the unstable coastal cliff edges, which drop off vertically into the ocean and present a serious falling hazard, according to a press release from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Photos on social media show people entering the closed area near where the sea arch once stood, putting themselves and first responders at great risk of falling and drowning off the rough, wave-swept coast.
The 90-foot Hōlei Sea Arch was still standing on Sept. 23 but had collapsed by Sunday night, Sept. 27. The exact time of the collapse is unknown and could have occurred when the park was temporarily closed during Tropical Storm Nolo.
The coastline flanking the sea arch has shown signs of instability for years, the release states. Earthquakes during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption and summit collapse damaged the cliffs near the arch and in January 2020, new cracks and instability prompted the park to close the original viewing area. A safer viewing area further from the cliff edge opened in March 2020.
Later that year, massive surf from Tropical Storm Darby broke off a chunk of rock from the lower part of the arch.
Visitors are required to stay out of closed areas and away from cliff edges which are unstable and can collapse without warning.
