0
0
Rogue Wave Alert: After many individuals were hurt by a wave along Ventura Beach on Thursday, a severe offshore storm is slamming towering waves into the California shoreline, causing floods and warnings of dangerous and devastating surges.
According to witness footage, the wave slammed over a barrier along the southern California beach, hurling a wall of fast-moving water at a gathering of witnesses who ran to escape the downpour. Some individuals were swiftly thrown off their feet, and automobiles were pounded as drivers attempted to flee.
According to Ventura County officials, about 20 individuals were temporarily carried away in the event, and eight were brought to the hospital.
High water and dangerous rip currents may churn along certain California beaches this weekend, as much of the West coast – from the US-Mexico border to southern Oregon – is under coastal flood and high-surf warnings, according to the National Weather Service.
Through Friday morning, waves as high as telephone poles (approximately 40 feet) might pound against San Francisco. Waves of 15 to 20 feet are forecast along the central coast.
According to the National Weather Service, the severe circumstances offer an “exceptional risk” of ocean drowning and damage to buildings such as piers and jetties.
Some surfers and observers have been captivated by the magnificent seas, but weather authorities warn that the waves and severe rip tides can be dangerous for people nearby.
“Large breaking waves can cause injury, wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats near shore,” cautioned the National Weather Service.
According to the Ventura County Fire Department, at least one fisherman fell overboard in a harbor near Oxnard and was subsequently rescued unharmed.
Road closures and evacuations have already occurred in coastal California communities, prompting the rescue of five campers near the San Luis Obispo shoreline.
Crews in Ventura worked through the night to strengthen a mile-long sand barrier damaged by high tide on Thursday, according to the local fire department. The elevated wall, which stands approximately seven feet tall, serves to protect seaside settlements.
Local officials restricted a primary access point to Ventura Pier, which had a surf of around 20 feet on Thursday, in an attempt to deter visitors. As a precaution, certain coastal roadways in the region have also been blocked.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office in central California’s Santa Cruz issued an evacuation alert for several neighborhoods, including Rio Del Mar, where saltwater flooded coastal streets and pressed against some homes, according to CNN affiliate KION. Later in the day, the advisories were lifted.
The most severe effects were forecast along the central and Ventura County coasts, as well as Hermosa, Manhattan, and Palos Verdes beaches, according to the Los Angeles Weather Service on Thursday.
Temperate seas are also slamming Northern California, with the Bay Area potentially seeing waves of 28 to 33 feet, according to the weather agency.
On Friday, a strong wind warning is in force for the Bay Area, with wind gusts of up to 50 mph forecast.
Rain is expected to move north from the Bay Area throughout the day Friday before turning south during the weekend.
Nine people were hospitalized as a massive rogue wave smashed onto the California coast.
On Thursday, nine people were hospitalized after being smashed by a rogue wave in California as massive swells pummeled the state’s coastline.
A witness captured video footage of spectators scrambling to run as the ocean surged onto shore at Pierpont Beach in Ventura about 11 a.m. Several individuals are submerged as they attempt to flee, and buildings are allegedly destroyed as a result of the incident.
According to KTLA, witnesses reported that several of the victims had fractured bones. According to the Ventura City Fire Department, two of the nine patients sent to the hospital on Thursday night were in severe condition.
“It was horrific,” said Colin Hoag, who filmed the wave. “There was a lot of yelling and screaming.” I had no idea how far [the wave] would travel. “I thought to myself, ‘This looks like a tsunami.'”
The National Weather Service has issued heavy surf and coastal flooding warnings for Ventura County beaches until Saturday evening. Residents are warned to remain out of the water and away from “dangerously large breaking waves” of up to 20 feet, and to keep away from “jetties, piers, and other water side infrastructure.”
“I think a lot of lessons were learned today when you look at that video,” Ventura County Fire Department’s Andy VanSciver told KTLA. “The importance of heeding the warnings, about giving the ocean some respect.”
Surfers flock to Mavericks because of the massive waves.
Despite safety warnings, surfers eager to confront the famed swells at Mavericks Beach, some 25 miles south of San Francisco, enjoy the enormous waves.
“The waves looked absolutely massive, and it was everything that we expected,” said Miguel Blanco, who traveled down from Portugal to surf the waves. “It was really big, I’d say 40-60 foot waves.”
The jaw-dropping waves at Mavericks, generated by unique undersea rock formations, reach their peak in the winter, when big wave surfers from across the world undertake pilgrimages to battle the surges.
Several films and documentaries have been made on the famed waves and the surfers who brave them, notably the 2012 documentary “Chasing Mavericks” about American surfer Jay Moriarity’s trek to ride Mavericks as a youngster.
The conditions were ideal for surfers like Blanco on Thursday.
“If it’s your turn, you just gotta go,” Blanco explained. “When you see a big wave, you’re kinda scared but at the same time you’re feeling like you should go and you just go and enjoy the ride.”
Average Rating