Zelda’s on the Beach co-owner Josh Whitby surveys the damage caused by a surging ocean smashing debris through the windows and walls facing the ocean on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, in Capitola, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
CAPITOLA — This charming seaside village was ravaged Thursday by ferocious ocean swells that destroyed a 40-foot section of the historic Capitola Wharf, inundated the once-lively beachfront restaurants and flooded the picturesque painted bungalows that line the beach, ripping off the facade of one of them.
In the nearby beach town of Rio del Mar, waves carrying logs and debris crashed over a sea wall