Santa Cruz’s wharf partially collapsed Monday as a powerful storm battered a central California beach, sweeping three people out to sea.
Dramatic footage and images showed a restroom building toppled by waves on the beach, a wrecked pier floating in the ocean and debris strewn across the water.
A trio of structures on the pier — which was being renovated after damage from two years of past coastal storms — were washed into the ocean during the harrowing collapse, said Fred Keeley, mayor of Santa Cruz.
Two were saved by rescue swimmers, while the third “self-rescued,” Keeley said, before warning locals to avoid the area.
“That is not something that we think folks ought to mess around with,” he said. “We encourage people to stay out of the water until further notice.”
An ocean “swell event” struck the wharf about 12:45 p.m., causing a 150-foot section at its end to collapse, said Tony Elliott, director of parks and recreation for Santa Cruz.
A closed restaurant called The Dolphin, restroom building and construction equipment — part of the renovation project — were all swept away during the collapse.
The pier section that collapsed had been closed while under construction since January this year, officials said.
“The wharf is currently closed and will remain closed indefinitely until we can assess the structure,” Elliott added.
The wider storm caused “very rough seas, breaking waves to 60 feet,” flooding and damage across the Pacific coast in California, according to the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office.
A man died at Sunset State Beach, near Santa Cruz, after a colossal wave trapped him under debris Monday, KSBW reported.
