California hit by 20 foot waves and 'life-threatening rip currents' as at least 8 hospitalised
A surfer enters the water at the Mavericks Beach near the Half Moon Bay, California
Reuters
Northern California has been hit with flooding and evacuation orders after storms in the Pacific Ocean whipped up coastal swells.
In Ventura County, a rogue wave was caught on video hitting the sea wall at the beach at the end of street which led to eight people having to be transported to local hospitals with minor injuries.
The weather has forced the beaches to close in Ventura County.
Meanwhile, further north, crews worked to clean the debris left by the rough waves in Santa Cruz County.
A surfer catches some air off a wave at Mavericks Beach near Half Moon Bay, California
Reuters
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), a high surf warning was active until early Friday, December 29 for shoreline counties along the Central and Northern California coastline breaking waves of 28 to 33 feet.
The NWS has warned that "these conditions are deadly."
The website Surfline is forecasting waves to reach as high as 30 to 40-feet (9 to 12 meters) off of the coast of San Jose.
The Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation warnings on Thursday due to the "high tides and flooding."
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A surfer catches some air off a wave at Mavericks Beach near Half Moon Bay, California
Reuters
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office information officer Ashley Keehn told KTVU FOX 2: "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.
"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."
Despite the warnings, some surfers took to the beaches for a chance to ride the waves.
Eyewitness Jackson Fisk told KTVU: "We had some people go out. They’re competing for a photo contest, actually. Yeah, they’re really hyped about the awesome waves and the giant swell that’s coming right now."
At the famous Mavericks Beach surf spot, big waves thundering into the California coastline on Thursday attracted surfers and spectators alike.
Lilly Baker, a 23-year-old student at the U.S. Military Academy from the California city of Oakland said: "Super stoked to be out here.
"It's just awesome to have everyone else out here appreciating like what the California coast has to offer."
Software engineer from Oakland Andre Assadi, 22 said: "This perspective is kind of weird because you can't really see how big the waves are from the cliffs over here, but we saw a jet ski kind of flip over so that was wild. Some of those sets were huge."