Three people were rescued from the wharf. The powerful surf also fatally trapped a man under debris on a beach in Santa Cruz, the authorities said.

A part of the Santa Cruz Wharf collapsed Monday afternoon during a high-surf warning, with authorities confirming two people had to be pulled from the water.

Persistent high surf and flooding threats along California’s coast have residents on high alert a day after a major storm was blamed for one man’s death and the partial collapse of a pier, which propelled three people into the Pacific Ocean.