Just last week, in this space, we wrote how the Pacific Ocean will inevitably have the final say on the future for West Cliff Drive along Santa Cruz’s oceanfront.

But the not-so Pacific subsequently provided an exclamation point on that reality this week by battering the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, with a 150-foot section at its tip that was under construction dropped into the sea, dragging three construction workers with it. While one can only wonder what the workers were thinking as the section of wharf tumbled into the sea (they were pictured astride the debris as it floated away), the good news is all three were safely rescued.

The stunning destruction made news around the world, as photos and videos of the severed section of wharf drifting in the ocean (with a restroom beached near the San Lorenzo Rivermouth) often verged on hyperbole that might lead some casual viewers to think the 110-year-old, once-2,745 wharf was destroyed.

It’s not, but it’s also closed indefinitely while engineering crews assess the structural integrity. The end of the wharf had been damaged by winter storms and the section collapsed amid a $4 million project to fix those damages.

The city almost certainly will seek state and federal aid to shore up the wharf. Meanwhile, tourist businesses and restaurants on the popular wharf are shuttered, as city and wharf officials decide what to do long term.

The wharf wasn’t the only oceanside structure or area closed by the waves and storm surge, as the havoc closed beaches and some roads and created dangerous conditions up and down the coast, with one man found dead Monday under debris at Sunset Beach in South County. Two persons are presumed drowned off Monterey County beaches.

Capitola Village was closed, opened, then temporarily closed again early Christmas Day after a Monterey Avenue home exploded; cause of the explosion which ended up with the house destroyed was still under investigation, although a natural gas leak is suspected.

The Santa Cruz Harbor, particularly the north section, was rocked Monday by the surging sea propelled by huge waves. The result was several boats sunk, ripped-apart docks and debris everywhere, including massive wharf pilings. Port officials said the damage and wave action reminded them of 2011, after an earthquake off the coast of Japan caused a tsunami surge in Santa Cruz that sunk 17 vessels, sidelined 50 more and resulted in about $17 million worth of damage. Early estimates of damages this time are $20 million.

The conditions produced huge waves that kept all but the most experienced surfers watching rather than paddling out (and the fabled Mavericks big wave spot near Half Moon Bay went off in spectacular fashion with 30-40 foot high waves and an international crowd of surfers and photographers showing up). A high surf warning ended Tuesday, and the emergency coastal flood warning also has ended. For now. But big waves are expected to return as early as today.

All this is an unavoidable reminder of destructive past storms, flooding and big waves hammering our coastline. The Capitola Wharf was split into two sections by storms in 2023 (and rebuilt) and cities and the county are still waiting for emergency money to flow in from the federal government for damages incurred over the past two years. The RV camping area at Seacliff State Beach, meanwhile, remains off limits and much of the coastal walkway there still has temporary fencing. The pier to the Cement Ship, of course, is gone, probably forever, after being destroyed during a 2023 storm.

Is all this another reminder of climate change? Maybe, although some weather forecasters say this year’s La Niña historically has been unpredictable in what it can stir up in the ocean and coastal weather. They said this week’s havoc has been caused by two huge low-pressure systems churning 800 miles offshore, both of which had stalled while creating winds in excess of 60 mph that churned up ocean waves across thousands of miles.

The history and the past three years of ocean havoc should lead to sober discussions about just what is possible to rebuild, and what isn’t.