Terrifying moment people flee cliffside parking lot as it crashes into ocean in California

A huge chunk of land on the California coast slid into the ocean on Saturday, sending terrified onlookers running from the edge of the cliff.

The dramatic scene at Centerville Beach near Ferndale in Humboldt County was caused by a landslide in Northern California.

Much of the clifftop, including part of the trailhead parking lot, is sliding into the sea, news station Redheaded Blackbelt first reported.

Drone footage captured the terrifying moment as people fled the clifftop car park as the land crumbled.

The footage showed the ground at the edge of the cliff as it collapsed onto the beach below.

According to the Bureau of Land Management, landslides have been happening at the Fleener Creek Trailhead since January.

Significant winter storms hit the state on January 18 and the trail was closed to visitors for safety reasons.

‘FThe Lener Creek parking lot was given away to Mother Nature last night and much of it is now in the ocean,” Humboldt County 1st District Supervisor Rex Bohn said on Facebook on Saturday, February 24.

“It is unsafe to use or even walk in the parking lot at this time,” Bohn continued. ‘This is not an invitation to go and have a look. It’s a dangerous situation.’

The area is patrolled by deputies and Ferndale police as it remains closed to the public.

Saturday’s landslide occurred just a few weeks after a similar incident occurred in Southern California.

A clifftop in Dana Point gave way in early February amid the crazy winter storms that swept through Southern California.

The landslide left two multimillion-dollar mansions teetering on the edge of the cliff above the Pacific Ocean.