Bulldozers on Friday built giant sand berms to protect beachfront homes in one of California’s coastal cities hit hard this week by extraordinary waves generated by powerful swells from Pacific storms.
Dozens of people watched construction of the emergency barriers in the Pierpont area of the city of Ventura, where a rogue wave on Thursday smacked spectators and vehicles as it overran the beach and flowed into a neighborhood.
“We have had water down the lane once before, but never like this,” said Karris Kutivan, a nine-year resident of the scenic shoreline city about 97km northwest of Los Angeles.
Photo: AFP
“What it has taught me is I want to live by the beach, not on the beach,” Kutivan said.
Eight people were taken to hospitals for treatment of injuries after the Pierpont incident, said Ventura County authorities, who closed beaches, piers and harbors through today.
Similar waves also overran beaches elsewhere on Thursday on the California coast, flooding parking lots, streets and triggering evacuation warnings for low-lying areas.
The ocean was less violent on Friday, but the US National Weather Service warned that another round of extremely dangerous surf conditions was to return yesterday.
The servicer’s Los Angeles-area office wrote that powerful cyclones over northern Pacific waters were sending 3.6m to 5m swells, creating “tremendous wave energy across coastal waters.”
At some points along California, breaking waves were predicted to reach 7.6m.
Even as residents girded for the next onslaught, a few avid surfers donned wetsuits to take advantage of the still high, but less ferocious waves that prevailed on Friday.
Kenny Powell, 64, another Ventura resident and surfing enthusiast, said that while many surfers live for the thrill of riding exceptionally big waves, Thursday’s conditions proved too challenging for him to venture into the swells.
“And we actually picked a few people out of the water,” he said. “Mother Nature had a little more than we had planned for.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
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