“For about 10 minutes chunks of rock falling along the ledge, then just massive piles started falling and collapsing onto the beach so slowly. I think it happened so slowly, you’d see so many chunks starting to fall that everybody was backing up already.” -Unnamed Surfer
Wild video out of Black’s Beach north of La Jolla Shores, California where a 250 feet wide and 25 feet high section of a cliff collapsed onto the shore Friday afternoon. NBC 7 reports the estimated the volume of the collapse at 150,000 cubic yards.
Thankfully there were warnings of the impending collapse with smaller chunks of rocks falling for around 10 minutes preceeding the big release. There were no reports of injuries.
Professor of Geology Emeritus at San Diego State University, Dr. Pat Abbott, says collapses aren’t a common occurrence but not unheard of when conditions line up:
“High sea cliffs, waves eating at the base, gravity pulling on it constantly, less sand on the beach in the winter, higher tides, all those things increase the probability of cliff failure.”
Rain is also increase the risk:
“You saturate those rocks with water, that makes them weaker and makes them heavier, which allows gravity to pull with more effective force during these times.”Â
Lifeguards cordoned off the debris field after the collapse. No reports as to when this section of beach will reopen.
