Quick Take:
We asked readers to share their photos from the storms that battered Santa Cruz County in early 2023, and the cleanup and recovery efforts that followed, and many responded. Here’s a selection of the most dramatic reader storm photos from across Santa Cruz County.
See photos from Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud here. And check out his videos here.
Lookout is asking readers to share their photos from the storms that ravaged Santa Cruz County from New Year’s Eve 2022 well into the new year, and the cleanup and recovery efforts that followed, and many responded. Here’s a selection of the most dramatic reader photos from across Santa Cruz County. Send your own to news@lookoutlocal.com.
Main Beach cleanup
By Janet Romanowski
More than 75 participants took advantage of a break in the weather Jan. 12 next to the Boardwalk on Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors Beach Clean-Up Day.
Fallen tree in DeLaveaga Park
By Eric Berg
Reader Eric Berg shared a photo of a large eucalyptus tree that fell around 4 p.m. along the west parameter of DeLaveaga Park, facing DeLaveaga Elementary School in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Santa Cruz. “We felt our house shake when it thudded down and we live six houses over,” Berg wrote. “No structures were damaged and fortunately no dogwalkers injured.”
Natural Bridges State Beach
By Claudia Webster
Walton Lighthouse at Seabright Beach
By Becky Foy
Flooded homes along Soquel Creek
By Shanie Gill
Parked car crushed by fallen tree in Aptos
By Juan Adrian
Soquel Creek into Capitola Village
By Philip Lima
Neighbors clear roadways with chainsaws in Bonny Doon
By Andre Beauregard
Capitola Village
By Indiana Reyna
Roadbed failure on Granite Creek Road
By Tatiana Gonzales
A fallen tree down on the Bonny Doon Elementary School bus barn
By Linda Levy
Mudslide and road failure along White Road
By Rita Hewitt
Flooding and home damage in Rio Del Mar
By Caroline Manning Montgomery
All paws on deck for tree clearing in Bonny Doon
By Melanie Palm
Damage from fallen trees on Escalona Drive
By John Mulry
Cleaning debris from Seabright State Beach
By Cori Land
Gwen Hubner and Cori Land spent time on Thursday cleaning up debris that accumulated on Seabright State Beach after the recent storms. They collected “16 pounds in one round of buckets,” says Land. “The beach is a mess, with debris pushed all the way back to the cliff. The fire pits are all blown around. We found some needles, tennis balls, beach toys, a pair of shoes, and lots of foam.”
Flooding at the Tannery Arts Center
Via Twitter
Flooding and evacuations in Watsonville
By Tina Baine
