Coral reefs already face a litany of threats. Experts say storm runoff from the recent Kona lows will only make matters worse.<\/p>\n
Last week\u2019s powerful Kona low storms, which caused catastrophic flooding on land, might also have devastated much of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s nearshore corals and reef fish, smothering them in tons of mud laced with pesticides and other toxic runoff, marine experts and conservation groups say.<\/p>\n
Divers have barely started to survey the damage below the surface, as the lingering murky, polluted waters have kept most areas unsafe to enter throughout the state. Still, a worrisome picture is emerging.<\/p>\n
The coastal waters off Waialua, the area hardest hit on O\u02bbahu by the floods, boast beautiful, abundant coral that stretch to the island\u2019s northwestern tip, at Ka\u02bbena Point, said Alika Garcia, a diver, spear fisherman and executive director of the nonprofit Kuleana Coral Restoration.<\/p>\n
Those waters remain chocolate brown, raising concerns coral bleaching or even die-offs could occur there.<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26084023559947-1024x683.jpg\")
Muddy, murky water bleeds out into the ocean along O\u02bbahu\u2019s North Shore coastline in Hale\u02bbiwa. Divers have yet to survey the extent of the damage to coral and other marine life but researchers are already concerned there\u2019s been widespread devastation. (AP Photo\/Mengshin Lin)<\/p>\n
Early reports indicate Maui coral reefs off K\u012bhei were hit hard by the record rainfall\u2019s torrents of mud, said Joe Pollock, a senior reef strategy lead with The Nature Conservancy.<\/p>\n
West Maui\u2019s sprawling Olowalu reef, Pollock said, is also a major point of concern. It seeds other coral colonies across the Maui region and regularly endures storm runoff. Pollock and his colleagues further worry about damage to Hawai\u02bbi island reefs off Kealakekua Bay, Kahuwai Bay and South Kohala.<\/p>\n
Hawai\u02bbi corals are already struggling to survive against warming seas from climate change, cesspools, overtourism and other human impacts. Goats, pigs, deer and other animals brought to the islands dig up soil loosely held in place by invasive plants and send it downstream, fueling the toll.<\/p>\n
Last week\u2019s unusually large dumps of soil, sediment and toxins could be too much for the weaker and more besieged corals to take, according to those who regularly monitor the reefs. They\u2019re now watching to see if favorable surf might wash away enough mud in time to give those corals a chance to recover.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese kinds of (Kona) lows aren\u2019t something brand new,\u201d Pollock said. \u201cBut one this dramatic and this prolonged on top of the other stress that these reefs are under is worrying.\u201d A Nature Conservancy team aims to dive Friday off the Big Island, he added, to get a closer look at the reefs there.<\/p>\n
The mud isn\u2019t the only threat. On O\u02bbahu\u2019s south shore, strong waves propelled by the Kona lows caused extensive coral damage, Ocean Alliance Project Executive Director Dylan Brown said.<\/p>\n
That includes corals that broke apart at Kewalo Basin and Maunalua Bay\u2019s Turtle Canyon, a nursery site where conservation groups grow coral that might better endure climate change.<\/p>\n
3-D imagery produced with special software by Ocean Alliance Project shows a stretch of reef in Maunalua Bay\u2019s Turtle Canyon East after the two Kona Low storms. A 3-foot-wide boulder with corals that took an estimated 50 years to grow can be seen overturned. (Courtesy: Dylan Brown\/Ocean Alliance Project)<\/p>\n
Another big concern, University of Hawai\u02bbi Kewalo Marine Laboratory Director Robert Richmond said, is whether local coral will be able to spawn offspring later this year with all the sludge, toxins and reduced salinity wrought by the Kona lows. <\/p>\n
Those critical spawning events only happen once or twice a year, Richmond said, starting in June.<\/p>\n
The deluge of mud and freshwater into the corals\u2019 saltwater environment, he said, may have already affected their eggs\u2019 viability. Even if the eggs do manage to get fertilized, it\u2019s not clear the offspring will find habitat to latch onto amid all the muck, which Richmond said often lingers for years.<\/p>\n
He and his team plan to assess the eggs\u2019 health in April or May, prior to the full-moon spawning event that\u2019s expected in June.<\/p>\n
More:\u00a0The Sex Life Of Coral: Why Scientists Think It Could Save Us All<\/a><\/p>\n On Friday, Hawai\u02bbi Gov. Josh Green warned that the nation\u2019s lone island state now faces at least $1 billion in damages to local schools, homes and roads.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jacob Johansen, an associate researcher with the Hawai\u02bbi Institute for Marine Biology, said the state should go further and estimate how much damage its marine resources endured \u2014 not just the infrastructure on land.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about the fisheries? What about subsistence food security? What about all those aspects?\u201d Johansen said Tuesday. \u201cI don\u2019t think that anyone has any numbers on that, and they could be very tall as well.\u201d<\/p>\n To get that figure, he recommended that state officials monitor over the next year the reefs hit by the Kona lows. Representatives with the Division of Aquatic Resources said the agency will start assessing damage once the water quality improves and it\u2019s safe to return.<\/p>\n Prior to the recent storms, Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s reefs were found to protect some $836 million in assets<\/a> on land as a natural barrier that protects the coast from storm surge.<\/p>\n A Rapid Response<\/p>\n There is at least some hope. Brown and Pollock, of The Nature Conservancy, pointed to an emerging coalition of local groups that aim to help state aquatic officials respond faster to destructive storms and assess coral damage.<\/p>\n Those faster responses could prove critical. Some coral that took decades to grow might be salvaged and reattached to the reef, they said, if the animals are rescued in time.<\/p>\n
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Debris lines Pu\u2018uiko Beach in Waialua. A second Kona low storm brought heavy rain after the previous week\u2019s downpour and high winds, dumping torrents of mud into the ocean. (Kevin Fujii\/Civil Beat\/2026)<\/p>\n![\"Civil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1753322412_339_logo10.png\"){kind=logo}
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