Massive 40ft waves flood coastal towns as people ordered to evacuate
Massive waves have been hammering the Californian coast flooding areas and forcing many to evacuate.
Powerful surf rolled onto beaches on the West Coast of the US and Hawaii on Thursday as a big swell generated by the stormy Pacific Ocean pushed towards the shore. Forecasters urged people to stay off rocks and jetties, and to not turn their backs to the ocean because of the danger of “sneaker waves” — occasional much bigger waves that can run far up the sand and wash someone off a beach.
A high surf warning for parts of Northern California said waves would range from 28 to 33 feet (8.5 to 10 metres) and up to 40 feet (12 metres) at some locations, the National Weather Service said, adding that there were reports of flooding in low-lying coastal areas.
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Despite the warnings, residents came out to watch the turbulent seas (AP)Coastal roads were swamped and waves even crashed against homes. Plows were needed to clear debris from the iconic State Highway 1, south of San Francisco.
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In Aptos on the north end of Monterey Bay, surf overran the beach and swept into a parking lot, leaving the area strewn with debris. Santa Cruz County issued warnings for people in several coastal areas to be ready to evacuate.
An aerial shot shows the debris covered roads (AP)“We put evacuation warnings into place around 8 a.m. this morning for this area, and, as you can see, these waves are incredibly powerful,” Ashley Keehn, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Information Officer, told KTVU FOX 2. “They’re washing logs up here. A lot of debris, a lot of driftwood. So we’ve been asking people to avoid the direct coastal area.”
Two men walk through ocean debris in the Rio Del Mar neighborhood of Aptos (AP)“Mother Nature’s angry,” said Eve Krammer, an Aptos resident for several years. “I mean these waves are gnarly. They’re huge.”
The same area was battered by the ocean last January as the West Coast was slammed by numerous atmospheric rivers. “I feel for the people that are down low here,” said Jeff Howard, also an Aptos resident.
While not quite as huge, the waves along Southern California were also described as hazardous, with life-threatening rip currents. Nonetheless, surfers couldn’t resist.
A view of massive waves at Surfers Beach of Half Moon Bay (Anadolu via Getty Images)Patience was key, according to Alex Buford, 27, who was catching waves just north of Manhattan Beach on the Los Angeles County coast. “I was waiting for a while because the waves were really sick, and they’re kinda hard to get into even though I have a really big board,” he said. “Just waited for a good one and I got it and it was a long one. Pretty big. It was sick.”
In Hawaii, the weather service forecast surf rising to 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 metres) along north-facing shores and 18 to 22 feet (5.5 to 6.7 metres) along west-facing shores of five islands.
A front end loader removes debris along a flooded road (AP)Professional Hawaii surfer Sheldon Paishon was getting ready to surf Thursday morning at Makaha, a world-famous surfing beach on Oahu’s west side. Paishon, 30, has been surfing at various spots around Oahu this week, taking advantage of waves during this week’s high surf warning in effect till Friday morning.
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