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OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
9:54 AM – Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Massive waves prompted by a West Coast storm that battered the California coast on Monday have left at least one person dead, another missing, and two rescued.
A man was discovered buried underneath rubble at Sunset State Beach in Watsonville, which is located along Monterey Bay. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office believes he was pinned there by a large wave.
Sadly, he later died at a local hospital.
Authorities believe that high surf most likely dragged another man into the Pacific Ocean at Marina State Beach, some 13 miles south. The man was still unaccounted for late on Monday night after searchers were forced to abandon their search due to the strong currents and large waves.
“The U.S. Coast Guard and California Highway Patrol searched by air and by sea, but were also unable to find the man. At 2 p.m., the search was deemed too dangerous to continue due to worsening weather conditions. The missing man’s identity was not released by police,” the LA Times reported.
The next day on Tuesday, a high surf warning was in force until at least 6 p.m. Monterey’s National Weather Service issued a warning regarding life-threatening conditions along the coast with breaking waves as high as 35 feet.
Additionally, at the famous Santa Cruz Wharf, some 70 miles south of San Francisco, waves also prompted a pier to partially collapse on Monday. When a portion of the structure fell into the sea, two individuals were saved, and another reportedly swam to safety.
“As the latest in a series of storms battered the West Coast, a large westerly swell brought the threat of breaking waves up to 30 or 35 feet to the beaches,” said weather.com meteorologist Sara Tonks. “A buoy north of Santa Cruz near Port Arena, California, reported winds gusting up to 36 mph and wave heights up to 25 feet earlier in the day Monday.”
After deteriorating over time and being damaged by storms the previous year, the wharf was already going through the process of being rebuilt. A statement posted on the wharf’s Facebook page on Monday night stated that it will stay closed until further notice. Due to the amount of debris that littered the area, nearby beaches remained closed as well. Updates will be posted on the wharf’s website regarding any changes to that guideline.
According to KRON-TV, the 150-foot collapsed portion was at the very end of the dock.
The collapse, according to the mayor, resulted in the loss of “many pilings, a lot of the deck of the wharf itself, as well as the restroom and what remained of the Dolphin restaurant.”
The mayor stated that the remaining debris in the water posed “serious hazards for people and for any kind of navigation,” and he advised people to avoid the ocean and the beach for their own safety, as well as to keep “their vehicles, their boats, or other devices out in the water.” The public restroom had already washed up on the beach.
The National Weather Service Bay Area office noted that prior to Monday’s collapse, there were already reports of ocean rescues.
“Stay out of the water. You’re putting your life at risk and the lives of the people that have to then try and save you,” the agency said in a social media post.
According to local officials, Santa Cruz’s coastal roadways were closed after the pier partially collapsed.
The governor’s office announced that local officials have been briefed along with the state’s Office of Emergency Services and Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.)
On Wednesday, during Christmas, and the first day of Hanukkah, the area will see a little break from the severe weather, but later this week, the second storm in a series of storms will hit the coast, according to Tonks.
After the Capitola Village was closed due to flooding caused by the strong waves, which prompted seawater to flow into the region, some residents of Capitola were also evacuated. The Capitola Venetian Hotel was evacuated as well, and locals were told to stay indoors.
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