Overview

• A section of coastal bluff near Marguerite Drive dropped about 300 to 400 feet laterally and 50 to 60 feet vertically toward the ocean on September 27, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
• Four backyards were damaged with no reported injuries or structural harm to homes, and a city geologist said the movement is currently static as the area remains cordoned off.
• Rancho Palos Verdes officials described the incident as an isolated event occurring outside the Portuguese Bend landslide area roughly four miles away.
• NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory reported the peninsula shifted about 16 inches toward the ocean last fall, with accelerating motion affecting hundreds of buildings, according to JPL scientist Alexander Handwerger.
• City analyses indicate ground movement roughly 80 times faster than in October 2022 and an expanded active footprint from under 400 acres to about 700 acres, prompting consideration of a ban on new construction in Portuguese Bend.