A portion of the Santa Cruz Wharf collapsed into the Pacific Ocean on Monday after the coastal city was pounded Monday with dangerous high surf.
Two people were rescued by lifeguards, and a third person was able to get to safety on their own, city officials posted on Instagram.
Video from the Northern California city showed a part of the pier floating in the water.
The incident occurred while the area was expected to see dangerous high surf along the beaches, including in Point Reyes National Seashore, the San Francisco Peninsula coast, Monterey Bay and the Big Sur coast, according to the National Weather Service. The heavy surf is the result of a series of atmospheric river events that are bringing heavy rain to Northern California, Oregon and Washington state.
Similar weather resulted in significant damage last winter to the piers in nearby Capitola and Seacliff.
Santa Cruz officials had issued a warning to residents, telling them to expect hazardous conditions on the beaches, including strong rip currents and powerful waves that could “pull even the strongest swimmers out to sea.”
By 1 p.m., city officials shut down all access to the wharf and pedestrian traffic was blocked because of the partial collapse.
High, strong waves 30 to 40 feet high were expected to hit area shores Monday, according to the National Weather Service. A high surf warning was expected to remain in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday, with some waves reaching up to 60 feet in some areas.
The strong waves would be life-threatening conditions for swimmers and surfers, officials said, and would submerge sand berms.
“Large waves can sweep across the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches,” the warning read. “Everyone should remain out of the water due to life-threatening surf conditions.”
