The 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile early Saturday prompted tsunami warnings along the entire Pacific coast of the United States.
In Santa Cruz, beaches were closed as a precaution. That didn’t stop hundreds of onlookers from crowding the Municipal Wharf and West Cliff Drive in an attempt to see the oncoming waves, which began to hit shore around 1:45pm.
Though the waves at Steamer Lane reached 25-30 feet, the surge didn’t wash far onshore, as some had predicted. As a light rain poured down, people’s reactions were both interested and disappointed.
Meanwhile, reports out of Chile tell of mass destruction with hundreds killed.
See photo slideshow below. Photos by Curtis Cartier.
