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Hawaii’s centuries-old sea arch collapses into Pacific after series of rough storms

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Cite

Campbell, L. (2026, October 2). Hawaii’s centuries-old sea arch collapses into Pacific after series of rough storms. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/02/hawaii-holei-sea-arch-collapses

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-02 · by Lucy Campbell

Quick Summary

Hawaii’s Hōlei sea arch, standing at approximately 90 feet tall and existing for over 550 years within Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, collapsed into the Pacific Ocean after a series of rough storms in September. The exact date is unknown but was confirmed by the National Park Service (NPS) as having occurred between Wednesday, September 23, and Sunday, September 27, during Tropical Storm Nolo. This collapse followed years of instability due to past tropical systems, earthquakes from the 2018 Kīlauea volcanic eruption, and recent severe storms associated with an unusually active hurricane season linked to El Niño conditions and climate change.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The Hōlei Sea Arch, a 550-year-old lava rock formation standing at approximately 90 feet tall in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, collapsed into the Pacific Ocean sometime between September 23 and September 27, likely during Tropical Storm Nolo. The arch was still visible as of September 23 but had disappeared by September 27 when the park reopened. This collapse marks a significant loss to the region's natural wonders and tourist attractions, with thousands of people expressing grief on social media platforms like Facebook and Google Maps marking it as "permanently closed." Despite its beauty, experts warned that the arch's instability was anticipated due to ongoing erosion from waves and earthquakes caused by the 2018 Kīlauea volcano eruption. The National Park Service has issued warnings about unstable cliffs near the former site of the sea arch, urging visitors to stay back for safety reasons.

Written for “Holei Sea Arch Collapse” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Holei Sea Arch Collapse
Environment · 8 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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Hedges 1 of 11 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 3 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 21 claims Outlet record 69/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 64/100
The Independent
Hedges 2 of 16 claims Outlet record 59/100
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 68/100
NBC News
Hedges 2 of 12 claims Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
8
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 1929 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Lucy Campbell
16 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Lucy Campbell
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 16 articles by Lucy Campbell →

Topics

El Niño Hawaii NPS Nolo the National Park Service

Subjects

Hawaii GPE · 3× NPS ORG · 2× the National Park Service ORG · 2× Hawaiian NORP · 1× the US Geological Survey ORG · 1×

Narrative

Forecasters have warned there is a high probability that this “supercharged” El Niño will reach a historic intensity, with its effects in strengthening the storms compounded by the broader overheating of the planet caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02
🔮 One day, it will be gone.

Claims (16 extracted, 0 hedged)

A famed centuries-old sea arch on Hawaii’s remote and rugged coastline has collapsed into the Pacific Ocean, the National Park Service confirmed on Friday, following a stretch of rough storms in the region in recent weeks. asserted
Service → collapse → weeks
The beloved landmark, Hōlei sea arch, stood at around 90ft high for over half a millennium in Hawaii’s Volcanoes national park, located on the dramatic southern coast of the Big Island. asserted
landmark → stand → Island
It was naturally formed around 550 years ago due to differential erosion by ocean waves. asserted
It → form → waves
The National Park Service (NPS) said the arch was still standing on Wednesday 23 September, when the park was temporarily closed during Tropical Storm Nolo, but had collapsed by Sunday night, on 27 September. asserted
park → say → September
“The arch formed in ancient lava flows by removing rock along cracks and weaker rocks,” the US Geological Survey said in a description of the arch in 2014. asserted
Survey → form → 2014
Every day the ocean crashes against the pillar of the arch, eroding it a little more. asserted
ocean → crash → it
One day, it will be gone. asserted
it → go → ?
Indeed, the cliffs on either side of the sea arch had shown signs of instability for years amid tropical systems and volcanic activity, the NPS said, meaning the arch’s collapse had long been expected. asserted
collapse → show → systems
Earthquakes during the 2018 Kīlauea volcanic eruption and summit collapse damaged the cliffs around the arch. asserted
Earthquakes → damage → arch
Then, in January 2020, new cracks and instability prompted the park to close the original viewing area and open a safer one further from the cliff edge three months later. asserted
cracks → prompt → edge
Later that year, huge surf from Tropical Storm Darby broke off a chunk of rock from the arch’s lower portion. asserted
surf → break → portion
The Hawaiian islands have seen an unusually high number of severe storms this year, with storm activity in the Pacific running above average during what is already the peak of hurricane season. asserted
what → see → season
Experts say the pattern is consistent with El Niño years, when the Pacific often sees more tropical storms and hurricanes. asserted
Pacific → say → storms
Nolo, which rapidly intensified into a hurricane on 24 September – causing Volcanoes national park to shutter - was the third major storm to devastate the islands of Hawaii in recent months. asserted
park → intensify → months
Residents were still recovering from hurricanes Lala in August and Lowell in early September, which had flooded homes and roads, toppled trees and caused power outages, when Nolo then battered the islands with heavy rain and high surf. asserted
Nolo → recover → rain
Forecasters have warned there is a high probability that this “supercharged” El Niño will reach a historic intensity, with its effects in strengthening the storms compounded by the broader overheating of the planet caused by the burning of fossil fuels. asserted
effects → warn → fuels
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