VIDEO: Gigantic Waves Destroy Iconic California Pier

Dashel Pierson
·1 min read
202

At the end of 2023, an utterly massive swell slammed California.

The swell brought some of the biggest waves in recent memory up north at Mavericks, down south surfers were scoring “20-30 foot” waves in San Diego, and chaos reigned everywhere in between with high surf inundating the shoreline.

From a surfing standpoint, it was almost too much swell, as many well-trodden wintertime haunts were maxed out; from a non-surfing standpoint, it was definitely too much swell, causing dangerous conditions for beachgoers and coastal damage.

For instance, Ocean Beach Pier in San Diego was irreparably damaged by the massive waves. The iconic San Diego pier was already closed to the public due to previous damage, but the El Niño-charged super swell at the end of 2023 was the last straw.

Many folks are saying that swell irreparably damaged the structure, and it must be fully replaced.

Speaking with KPBS Public Media on the pier with surfers in the background catching last gasps of the swell, consultant Matthew Martinez suggested this:

“It’s seen better days. We’ve done a lot of laboratory testing on the concrete, and we’ve made the determination that it’s better to replace the pier as opposed to continually putting band aids on it. Those might only be good for a year or two.”

Drone footage on social media during the massive swell showed waves toppling over the pier, railings knocked off the structure, and whitewater pounding the pylons.

“Wind, salt, water…” continued Martinez. “These things are the enemy of reinforced concrete.”

Sayonara, OB Pier.

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