Overview
- Powerful swells from the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel over the weekend tore away a large section of Long Beach’s boardwalk and seawall and severely eroded the narrow Peninsula.
- Officials have red-tagged eight buildings covering 13 residential addresses and yellow-tagged one, and they issued a mandatory evacuation for homes on Seaside Walk between 64th and 66th places.
- City crews began emergency shore repairs by hauling truckloads of sand and filling sandbags while accelerating an $11.4 million Alamitos Bay dredging plan to place about 415,000 cubic yards of beach-ready sand.
- At least one oceanfront house was reported to be on the brink of collapse into the surf, leaving residents scrambling to salvage belongings and reinforcing other homes against ongoing high tides.
- Local leaders warn that a strong El Niño and already elevated sea levels mean more late-season high surf and repeated erosion are likely, forcing officials to balance costly short-term fixes with longer-term shoreline choices.