Stunning video captured the moment a massive section of a cliff broke off and fell onto a San Diego-area beach.
The incident happened on Friday around 2.45pm when reports were called into local law enforcement about a 10-minute landslide involving major portions of the cliff.
According to a geology professor who spoke with local media, the collapse is the most notable and significant cliff failure in 40 years. It’s unclear what caused the collapse but recent rain and other climate concerns could be contributors.
Estimates say the volume of the collapse is around 150,000 cubic yards.
According to a geology professor who spoke with local media, the collapse is the most notable and significant cliff failure in 40 years
The bluff collapse at Black’s Beach in La Jolla – a small beachside town north of downtown San Diego – forced officials to close several trails in the area.
Luckily, no one was injured in the incident, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
The video, taken by Phinney Cole, shows the moments humongous pieces of rock and cliffside break off and tumble down the cliffside and onto the beach below.
Another angle of the collapse showed the breakage hitting the beach from the front.
Witnesses told local media the force of the collapse was so powerful it cratered a portion of the beach and exploded upward.
They also said it happened relatively slowly, giving beachgoers time to get out of the way during the collapse.
In total, the collapse is estimated to be 250 feet wide and 25 feet high.
This is where the cliff collapse occurred Friday afternoon in northern San Diego
Estimates say the volume of the collapse is around 150,000 cubic yards
This is Black’s Beach where the cliff collapse happened Friday afternoon
One geologist said the collapse is a continuation of one that happened almost 41 years ago to the day in the exact same spot
‘This is the biggest landslide we’ve seen around here in many years, but its actually is a piece of an old one that didn’t finish sliding,’ said geologist Pat Abbott, a professor at San Diego State University.
Abbott said he believes the collapse is a continuation of one that happened almost 41 years ago to the day in the exact same spot.
He also said this isn’t the first cliff in the area to experience a major incident.
‘Five times since 1995, we’ve had sea cliff failures in San Diego County that have killed from one to three people each time,’ Abbott said.
Scroll down for video of a collapse at Torrey Pines from two years ago:
‘This is the biggest landslide we’ve seen around here in many years,’ said Pat Abbott, a geologist and professor at San Diego State University
The professor said the collapses are most common from December to January and can be caused by a myriad of issues impacting beaches and shores.
‘High sea cliffs, waves eating at the bay, gravity pulling on it constantly, less sand on the beach in the winter, highest tides — all those things increase the probability of cliff failures,’ he said.
California’s recent rainfall totals, brought on by a series of atmospheric rivers, could have also played a factor in the collapse.
It’s a fact that is worrying some residents who live nearby and enjoy hitting the beaches out of fear of a repeat incident.
‘It’s kind of concerning, I’m scared to go down there still,’ said one woman who spoke with NBC 7 about the collapse.
‘It’s kind of concerning, I’m scared to go down there still,’ said one woman who spoke with NBC 7 about the collapse
The cliff collapse come just days after another scary incident in the same area when a vehicle traveled off the road and dangled off a cliff.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department was called to the
‘Very crazy scene,’ said Tyler Mitchell, a witness who works nearby.
Mitchell told Fox 5 San Diego he saw the whole thing and called it ‘nerve-wracking.’
‘It was very worrisome at first because you just want to know,’ Mitchell said.
‘I didn’t know how far it was off the edge, then I came down here and it was the front two tires off. It was a lot more nerve-wracking down at this view than up at my angle.’
A chief with the San Diego Fire and Rescue team said crews worked quickly to retrieve the passenger with the looming threat of high surf waves just beneath the car.
The chief said the driver was lucky to land where he did and that the situation could have ended very differently.
‘Sheer luck the car landed where it was,’ Battalion Chief Dave Seneviratne told Fox 5.
The man inside the car sustained minor injuries in that incident.