"It's really exciting," one local said earlier this week of the giant waves that have been slamming into the California coastline of late, attracting gawkers who appear unfazed by the potential danger. A group of bystanders in the southern part of the state got more excitement on Thursday than they bargained for, however, after a rogue wave crashed down on them as they stared out at the Pacific Ocean, reports KTLA. Officials say at least eight people ended up in the hospital after the monster surf broke over a wall at Ventura's Pierpont Beach around 11am local time, with two victims in critical condition.
The news outlet has video shot by Colin Hoag (extended video can be seen here), showing a relatively peaceful scene of beachgoers standing behind a barrier as they look out at the water, some recording the surf on their phones. Suddenly, the observers seem to realize the water is rushing too close to where they're hanging out and start to run. "Ohhh," a voice can be heard saying in the footage, which shows the wave jumping the barrier as people try to flee. "Beachgoers were seen frantically running for their lives" as the water flooded the observation area and nearby streets, per KTLA.
"It was horrific," Hoag says. "There was a lot of screaming, a lot of yelling. I didn't know how far [the wave] would go. I thought, 'This is a tsunami.'" The National Weather Service has been warning about the recent "tremendous wave energy," which has been hitting especially hard in Ventura County, with not only rogue waves nearing 20 feet high, but also flooding, erosion, and dangerous rip currents. Local officials are hoping that the wave-curious have learned something from Thursday's incident, especially "the importance of heeding the warnings, about giving the ocean some respect," a spokesman from the Ventura County Fire Department tells KTLA. (More rogue waves stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
