Can't withstand Typhoon Meranti's massive waves！ The thousand-year-old "Green Island Giant Mushroom" has fallen

▲ The Green Island “Giant Mushroom” stands about 13 meters tall and has a circumference of approximately 11 meters, making it the world’s largest single living coral in terms of size (Photo / Screenshot from YouTube)

By Reporter Cai Wenjun / Comprehensive Report

Typhoon Meranti wreaked havoc across Taiwan, and the world’s largest living coral formation, the "Green Island Giant Mushroom," also collapsed under the massive waves caused by the storm. Yu Ming-hung, a diving instructor at Taitung Flying Fish Diving, posted a heartfelt message on his Facebook page, saying it was a loss for the people of Taiwan. He also hopes people will come forward to help remove the algae and debris that have grown on the mushroom.

The "Green Island Giant Mushroom" is currently the world’s longest-living massive pore coral, with an age of up to 1,000 years. It has been growing at a depth of 18 meters in the waters off Green Island since the Northern Song Dynasty, and has now reached a height of 10 meters. Due to its mushroom-like appearance, it is affectionately nicknamed the "Green Island Giant Mushroom."It has also been included within the Taitung County Government’s fishery resources protection zone.

Back in 2014, the Green Island Giant Mushroom faced a crisis of disappearance due to the invasion of staghorn coral. Experts at the time pointed out that staghorn coral can break apart due to wind and wave action, and if this continued, it could lead to the collapse of this world’s largest underwater coral landscape. This time, under the fierce force of Typhoon Meranti, it finally could not hold up and collapsed.

Yu Ming-hung said on his Facebook page that the Green Island Giant Mushroom fell in a southerly to northerly direction, with the top now pressing down on a nearby small pore coral. It is tilted at about 45 degrees, and the breakage started from the very bottom. However, he believes there is no need to specifically try to right it. What is most urgent now is to clear the debris caused by the impact so that it can combine with the other two nearby corals. He also hopes someone can assist with the cleanup.