The Ocean Beach Pier could be a metaphor for our current state. It was significantly damaged by waves and high surf and is closed and shut-down.
Debris and timber from the pier washed up at the foot of Newport Avenue and pieces were collected and carted off by locals and tourists as souvenirs.
OB Pier debris washed up. All photos by Linda Taggert unless otherwise noted.
Significant damage to the railing and the wood paneling of the pier was caused by mother ocean. 7SanDiego
Also the Pacific surge caused flooding and lifeguards closed the area surrounding Newport Avenue and Abbott Street.
The severe damage could close the iconic OB Pier for a year for repairs.
Unlike the US government, however, it will be easier to repair.
Waves were predicted to reach 10 to 12 feet before 8 a.m today, Friday, during a high surf advisory. The National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory that was set to expire at 4 a.m. The advisory warned of potentially dangerous rip currents and coastal flooding.
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I’m curious. Where did the one-year time frame for repairs come from?
Just what I was thinking!
I just pulled it out, based on locals’ observations of the last time the pier was seriously damaged – but not scientifically based.
You mean like the other one-year time frames to repair beach access?
Hey Frank, you have not had a pole in awhile. How about one for how long it will take to repair and open the OB pier :-)
czech it out
I’d like to but we no longer have a poll program.
A woman was injured Friday when high surf swept through a hole in the sea wall near the Ocean Beach pier, San Diego lifeguards reported.
A crowd formed to watch the waves at Newport Avenue and Abbott Street about 6:45 a.m. At one point, the surf broke through a six-foot gap in the wall, traveling roughly 300 yards up the road.
The injured woman and at least two other people who were in the area were swept off their feet, witnesses told 10News reporter Jim Patton. She was hit by wood and other debris, and suffered a cut to her forehead. https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/woman-swept-away-injured-by-high-surf-in-ocean-beach
Here are the tides forecast : https://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/San-Diego-California/tides/latest
Via Channel 5:
The pier will remain closed for several weeks while engineers assess and repair the damage, a city spokesperson said.
Why would anybody want to stand in front of a break in the seawall when huge surf is rolling towards it? Must not know much about the ocean to be doing that! Or maybe she had a damn cellphone in her hand to take pictures? People do really stupid things with those I’ve noticed…
Thermal expansion of the ocean from all the CO2 loading into it, Global Warming leading to bigger storms & bigger surf, and now there is 7% more water in the atmosphere which is adding along with all the melt from the planetary ice… Not a good combination of conditions there, folks. I’ve noticed a few days this winter where it was breaking outside of the south T on the OB Hotel webcam… I was there when Crystal Pier in PB turned into Crystal Stub back in the early 70s sometime, when the entire end broke off and then battered at what was left. Makes me wonder what the expected lifespan of that concrete pier is? Concrete is not waterproof, it’s porous, and the rebar the pilings were built with have got to be getting some serious rust after nearly 60 years of ocean leakage you would think. One of these days the dip spot will drop into the ocean or a T will twist and fall and make a new reef…. Nothing lasts forever.
And another article here in the Rag talked about more of the Cliffs falling due to wave action. Patios disappearing into the ocean. That’s going to continue and very likely get worse, too, I would think. Sure are a lot of big heavy buildings lining right on the edge of the Cliffs…and they aren’t even really solid rock. Probably not the best place to locate a big heavy building….
sealintheSelkirks
“… Why would anybody want to stand in front of a break in the seawall when huge surf is rolling towards it? …”.
San Diego is where tourists come to splash around in the surf and enjoy the warm tortillas of Old Town.