Escape From Ventura: Watch As Panicked Californians Flee ‘Mini Tsunami’

Multiple freak waves, or what many are calling a ‘mini tsunami’ event, hit several coastal towns in California Thursday and Friday, with one particular big wall of water having left eight people hospitalized.

This article was published by ZeroHedge.

“Overall, this is expected to be an exceptional high-surf and coastal flooding event that has not occurred in many years,” the weather service in Los Angeles warned amid a number of local beach evacuation orders being issued to prevent onlookers and bystanders from getting swept away. But this is exactly what happened in Southern California’s Ventura County, when a wave inundated an entire street at Pierpont Beach where some twenty people had been lingering, stunning footage of which has since gone viral…

“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,” a statement by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office indicated.

“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,” the statement added, after in some cases waves in the Santa Cruz area were recorded at up to 28 to 33 feet high.

Local authorities have continued urging that people avoid the Ventura Pier and beach areas, having imposed beach closures, while additionally emergency crews have worked around-the-clock to erect additional protective beach barriers to prevent more flooding.

Another angle to the Ventura Pier incident:

Coastal flood and high surf warnings have been issued at various places along the coast from San Diego to Los Angeles and beyond San Francisco.

Another instance of massive waves caught on film saw a wall of water overtake the Capitola Pier and flooded local businesses at the base of the pier situated on the shoreline.

The incredibly high surf is expected to continue though Saturday night. “Waves as high as telephone poles – about 40 feet – could slam into San Francisco through Friday morning,” CNN noted.

Coastal homes hit by large swells…

“Fifteen- to 20-foot waves are expected along the central and Southern California coasts through Saturday evening,” the report added.

The National Weather Service is warning people in coastal areas to be on the alert and avoid low-lying or danger-prone areas close to the sea. “Large breaking waves can cause injury, wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats near shore,” an alert message said.