Sinkhole forms in parking lot of Seal Beach restaurant after high surf causes flooding

SEAL BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A Seal Beach restaurant that experienced serious flooding over the weekend is now dealing with another issue: an apparent sinkhole.

The parking lot at The Beach House at Seal Beach restaurant on the corner of 1st Street and Ocean Avenue flooded on Saturday, forcing the business to close as the owner assessed the damage.

They tried to stay open for a bit but the owner said the water got too high.

"It's hard because we've put so much time into it, five years of building it, and a lot of money, so this is devastating for us," said owner Rosie Ritchie.

Crews with the city of Seal Beach worked to pump the water out of the lot, trying to regain access. On Sunday, however, once the water was cleared, a sinkhole was discovered. It's about the width of two parking spots and about 3 feet deep.

"That's pretty crazy how the storm just made this huge hole," said one resident in the area. "You don't see that often over here at all."

Eyewitness News spoke with many people who were out in Seal Beach on New Year's Day and many said it's the first time they've seen anything like that in the area.

But not everyone thinks nature is behind it.

One local surfer said he uses the parking lot several times a week and said he thinks one of the pumps used to move flood waters may have taken some pieces holding up the ground.

"I'm just speculating," he said. "With the force of that pump, they could've pumped out all that sand and caused that."

Eyewitness News reached out the city of Seal Beach for more information but has not heard back.

In Orange County, a high surf warning and coastal flood advisory was in effect until Monday, with waves reaching between 6 to 15 feet.

According to the National Weather Service, the Orange County locations most susceptible to flooding included Seal Beach, Sunset Beach and Newport Beach.

City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.