At Marina State Beach, about a 10-mile drive northeast from Monterey, heavy waves pulled a man into the ocean at about noon Monday, KPIX reported. Onlookers tried to rescue the man but were thwarted by strong currents and large waves.

The incident was likely related to the storm pummeling the West Coast that brought high surf and flooding to central California, officials said.

High surf was blamed for fatally trapping a man beneath debris on a beach and later partially collapsing a pier in Santa Cruz, tossing three people into the ocean.

The storm was expected to bring hurricane-force winds and waves up to 60 feet (18 meters) as it gained strength from California to the Pacific Northwest

Two people were rescued when a California pier partially collapsed and fell into the ocean as the state's central coast was pounded by heavy surf from a major storm.