Three people fell into the water, but survived with only “minor injuries”, when a 150ft portion of the Santa Cruz wharf in Santa Cruz, California, collapsed on Monday and floated away, according to local officials and the National Weather Service (NWS).
The collapse comes as the area is experiencing a major swell that is expected to bring waves as high as 26ft (7.9 metres) to the central coast, along with hurricane-force winds.
Lifeguards rescued two people from the water and a third person was able to swim to safety, the Santa Cruz fire department said on Instagram. At a press conference, local officials said all three people who fell into the water had been working for the city: one was a parks and recreations department program manager, and the two others were contractors for the same department.
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The three workers were either uninjured or had suffered only “minor injuries”, Santa Cruz’s mayor, Fred Keeley, said. The end of the wharf had been previously damaged by winter storms and was undergoing repairs, and had been shut to the public during renovations.
Some of the wharf’s pilings are still in the ocean and remain “serious, serious hazards”, the mayor said. Each piling weighs hundreds of pounds and is being pushed by powerful waves.
The California governor, Gavin Newsom, joined the National Weather Service in urging people in the area to treat the ocean with caution in the coming days. The post on social media said Newsom was coordinating with local officials and was ready to provide support.
“You are risking your life, and those of the people that would need to try and save you by getting in or too close to the water,” the NWS said.
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The NWS is warning everyone to stay out of the water and off jetties, piers and other waterside structures. Beachgoers are warned never to turn their backs on the ocean.
Tony Elliot, the head of the Santa Cruz parks and recreation department, estimated that about 150ft of the end of the wharf fell into the water at approximately 12.45pm. The wharf was immediately evacuated and will remain closed indefinitely.
The segment of the wharf that broke off, which included public restrooms and the closed Dolphin Restaurant, floated about half a mile (0.8km) down the coast and wedged itself at the bottom of the San Lorenzo River.
Monday’s collapse came about a year after the Seacliff State Beach pier just down the coast was battered beyond repair by a heavy winter storm. More than 1,000 homes in the Santa Cruz area were also damaged in the previous year’s storm, and south of Santa Cruz, in San Luis Obispo, a five-year-old child was swept away by the floodwaters. Across California, more than 20 people died in a series of winter storms that battered the region.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
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