Multimillion-dollar California oceanfront homes battered by relentless Pacific waves as coastline crumbles

THE TAKEAWAY

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Powerful waves generated by Tropical Storm Rachel tore through the Long Beach Peninsula over the weekend, damaging lavish multimillion-dollar oceanfront homes and destroying sections of the historic boardwalk as the California city continues battling rapid coastal erosion.

As a potentially record-breaking El Niño fuels an exceptionally active Pacific hurricane season, powerful coastal waves have battered California, taking a heavy toll on Long Beach’s Peninsula neighborhood.

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The vulnerable stretch of waterfront homes was hammered by high tides and rough surf from yet another powerful tropical system.

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Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said that eight buildings representing 13 residential addresses were red-tagged as unsafe to enter, while one additional building received a yellow tag allowing residents limited access to retrieve belongings, but not remain inside.

Laath Martin, public affairs and media relations lead for the City of Long Beach, confirmed to FOX Weather that one of the red-tagged homes was purchased for roughly $5 million just two months ago.

The city issued a mandatory evacuation order for homes along Seaside Walk between 64th and 66th places while restricting vehicular access to the Peninsula to residents only as recovery and mitigation efforts continued.

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Long Beach officials said crews began moving truck loads, dumping thousands of cubic yards of sand onto the Peninsula on Oct. 10, ahead of an accelerated $11.4 million Alamitos Bay dredging project that will deliver an additional 415,000 cubic yards of beach-ready sand to the vulnerable stretch of land.

Rachel’s powerful waves caused devastating damage to numerous oceanfront homes and sections of the boardwalk, while large surf continued to batter the already damaged properties on Tuesday after days of high tide impacts.

Tropical Storm Rachel is the latest chapter in an exceptionally active Eastern Pacific hurricane season, fueled in part by a powerful El Niño that has sent storm after storm toward California’s already battered coast.

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Hurricanes Marie and Polo were among several powerful Pacific systems that battered Southern California, leaving the Long Beach community reeling before Rachel delivered another devastating blow to the already vulnerable coastline.

In just six weeks, three tropical systems have battered the Long Beach coastline, with Rachel bringing another round of rough surf, high tides and coastal erosion that damaged properties and infrastructure.

"This is a sobering reminder of the power of nature and, most importantly, the importance of staying prepared," Mayor Rex Richardson said during a news conference.

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Long Beach is a snapshot of a broader story unfolding along the Southern California coast, but the city is not giving up on its vulnerable Peninsula.

With Hurricane Marie exposing the Peninsula’s devastating vulnerability, Long Beach officials have outlined a seven-point plan focused on repairing damaged infrastructure, restoring lost sand, strengthening the shoreline and advancing long-term coastal resilience as erosion worsens and El Niño conditions intensify.

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The City of Long Beach declared a local emergency following California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Sept. 21 statewide emergency declaration, which directed state agencies to prepare for severe storms, coastal flooding and erosion while expediting efforts to protect vulnerable communities and critical infrastructure.

Across Southern California, similar scenes are unfolding as powerful storms continue to chip away at fragile shorelines.

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Coastal erosion has swallowed beaches and has even forced long-term closures along stretches of Pacific Coast Highway, one of the nation’s most iconic roads.