After being devastated by Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016, the reefs of Fiji’s Namena Marine Reserve and Vatu-i-Ra Conservation Park are steadily rebounding.

Winston was the strongest cyclone in recorded history to make landfall in the southern hemisphere, with winds up to 175 miles per hour. It caused an estimated $1.4 billion in damage topside and underwater, destroying many of the archipelago’s reefs.

A recent expedition headed by the Wildlife Conservation Society shows these areas have recovered beyond scientists’ expectations. WCS Fiji conducted dive surveys one month, six months, and now more than four years after the storm hit to monitor recovery over time. Today there is an abundance of young coral colonies, and fish have returned in significant numbers.

“We saw large areas of reef covered by branching corals all roughly the same size and likely to be around four years in age,” Sangeeta Mangubhai, director of WCS Fiji, says in a statement. “These new corals are covering surfaces and are providing new habitat for fish.”

The Namena reserve and Vatu-i-Ra park cover a combined 80 square miles of Fiji’s waters. WCS, which has played a significant role in the establishment of both areas, has worked with the local iTaukei communities — who hold fishing rights over Namena and Vatu-i-Ra — to implement reef management measures such as no-take zones.

Mangubhai says these protections may have played a part in why the corals rebounded so quickly.

“The fast recovery likely reflects these reefs have good natural recruitment and they are well managed,” he tells The Guardian . “Coral reefs that were healthier [before a disaster like a cyclone] are expected to recover a lot faster.”