Large waves and extremely high tides caused coastal flooding in parts of Santa Cruz County on Thursday and Friday morning. Roads were quickly cleared and reopened, and evacuation warnings were lifted on Friday. But Capitola Beach, coastal Rio del Mar and Pajaro Dunes have been placed under evacuation warnings again.
With additional high tides and big surf expected for this weekend, the county warns residents and visitors to stay away from potential flood zones. People flocked to the coast to watch the waves on Thursday and Friday, and there were several close calls.
“These waves are tossing full redwood trees around like they're toothpicks. They are extremely dangerous, they're extremely powerful, and they carry a lot of energy,” said Santa Cruz County Public Information Officer Jason Hoppin. “I understand the impulse to go bear witness to this, but we would urge everyone to stay back from the coast. It doesn't take long to make one mistake, and that mistake could cost you your life.”
The county does not expect to see the same level of structural damage as last season’s storms, but incoming rain and a loss of sand to buffer the waves could make things worse than expected.
In Capitola, many seaside businesses are still recovering from last year’s storms and have again been forced to close. Joshua Whitby, the kitchen manager at Zelda’s, spent Thursday morning boarding up ocean-facing windows and moving tables and chairs to the front of the building.
“We knew a storm surge was coming. We knew the tide was going to be high. None of us thought it was going to be this bad,” he said on Friday afternoon.
Even so, Whitby said that so far, most businesses had fared better than last year.
“Sand Bar kind of took the brunt of this storm,” he said.
Joshua Evenson, the door greeter at Sand Bar, said even with flooding and damage to the floor, this storm doesn’t yet compare to the damage from last year.
“It was basically a complete gut last year… this is just the flooring. Salt water and sand came in about six to eight inches up inside the bar,” he said.
“We have two more days of potential problems with another high tide and big surf warnings, so we’re just going to hold tight for now and try to address the problems as they happen.”
For resources, updates and alerts from Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito Counties, visit the KAZU winter storms page.
