The images are impressive. Huge waves are crashing on the west coast of the US, where residents were swept away by the waves and a hotel was flooded, with authorities warning of a drowning risk on Friday.
Due to a storm that caps a year marked by extreme weather events, rotor blades measuring between seven and nine meters are expected in several regions of the Pacific Ocean, in California and Oregon.
A beach in Southern California. MARIO TAMA/Getty Images via AFP 2023 Getty Images
North of Los Angeles, Ventura County was hit Thursday and several injuries were reported. Videos circulating show a huge wave crashing over a seawall in the city of Ventura, knocking over pedestrians as other residents take cover. “Eight people were hospitalized as a result,” the Ventura Fire Department said on social media. According to the Los Angeles Times, a hotel was flooded and windows exploded under the force of the waves.
The US Weather Service (NWS) has warned of possible “extremely dangerous conditions”, with “strong waves and currents posing a significant risk of drowning and damage to coastal infrastructure such as docks or piers”. The risk of flooding will continue until Saturday, according to the same source.
Santa Cruz County. Handout via Portal
Meteorologists do not expect too much damage, but warn that the sea can be very dangerous. “There is an increased risk of drowning. Currents can push swimmers and surfers out to sea,” the NWS says. “Large breaking waves can cause injuries, wash away anyone on beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats near shore.”
Mavericks Beach, California. Portal/Nathan Frandino
The storm will also be accompanied by heavy rain and snowfall could occur in the Sierra Nevada range over the weekend. This bad weather is the latest weather episode in a year marked by extreme events in the western United States, which fell victim to a severe heat wave in July. This came after an unusually rainy winter in which numerous storms, some very close together, produced record rainfall in certain regions, causing damage and flooding. Dry reservoirs filled and rivers overflowed their banks.
Global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities is increasing the magnitude and/or frequency of extreme weather events.