LOS ANGELES, CA – Destructive surf from the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel battered the Long Beach Peninsula for a fourth day Monday, leaving eight buildings along Seaside Walk red-tagged and prompting evacuation orders, according to the City of Long Beach.
As of Monday, Oct. 12, the eight red-tagged buildings covered 13 addresses on the 6400 and 6500 blocks of Seaside Walk, and one additional building was yellow-tagged. Some counts on Sunday put the number of red-tagged buildings at nine.
Parts of the boardwalk have crumbled, and about 30 feet of bulkhead has been damaged. The city has closed vehicle access to the Peninsula to residents only.
The National Weather Service forecast for Los Angeles and Oxnard, issued at 1:02 a.m. Monday, called for a coastal flood advisory through 2 p.m. Tuesday, 3-to-6-foot surf and a high rip current risk. A high tide of about 6.0 feet was forecast for 11:13 a.m. Monday.
Waves began hitting the Peninsula Wednesday night
The surf began damaging the Peninsula, also known as the Alamitos Peninsula, on the night of Wednesday, Oct. 7. Waves continued through Friday morning, flooding streets and striking homes at high tide, according to initial reports.
Sand berms built to protect the area were washed away, and windows and doors were smashed. The Peninsula sits along the ocean side of Long Beach, with Seaside Walk running along the beachfront.
Dan Fox, president of the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California, said the waves are pulling soil from beneath the foundations and substructures of the buildings, potentially undermining them.
Eight buildings red-tagged, one yellow-tagged
City inspectors placed the red and yellow tags on the Seaside Walk buildings. In the city’s designations, a red tag means a building is too dangerous to enter, while a yellow tag lets an owner go in briefly to collect belongings but not stay, according to initial reports.
Mayor Rex Richardson said Saturday, Oct. 10, that eight structures were red-tagged and one was yellow-tagged. The count has stood at eight buildings covering 13 addresses as of Monday.
Mandatory evacuation order for Seaside Walk homes
The city issued a mandatory evacuation order on the evening of Friday, Oct. 9, for a small number of homes on Seaside Walk after waves damaged the boardwalk bulkhead. The order was still in place Monday.
On Saturday, Oct. 10, the city added an evacuation warning for more Peninsula residents on 64th, 65th and 66th Places south of Ocean Boulevard, and on the 6200, 6300, 6600 and 6700 blocks of Seaside Walk. An evacuation order requires residents to leave, while a warning tells them to be ready to go.
Bulkhead damage and sandbag efforts
The city said the storm damaged about 30 feet of bulkhead between 65th and 66th Places. A crane was used to position 30 heavy sandbags, each weighing about 3,000 pounds, at 64th Place.
Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan said the Long Beach Fire Department has distributed more than 11,000 sandbags and urged residents to prepare go bags. “We’ve seen so much damage and we expect even more,” he said.
The city said it has spent more than $1 million from its Tidelands reserves on the response so far.
City officials describe worsening conditions
Richardson spoke at a news conference on the Peninsula Saturday and urged residents to avoid the area for the rest of the weekend. “This is a sobering reminder of the power of nature,” he said, adding that conditions would get worse in the coming days.
He said the storm was the third hurricane-related system to hit the area in about six weeks, after Hurricanes Marie and Polo. In a statement Friday, Oct. 9, he said protecting residents was the city’s top priority as high surf and erosion affected the Peninsula community.
Councilmember Kristina Duggan said in a city statement that the Peninsula is experiencing “unprecedented surf and swells” that continue to put city infrastructure and private property at risk. She said city teams are working between tides to repair the damaged bulkhead and deliver sand to vulnerable areas, and that conditions are expected to remain critical into next week.
Emergency declarations came weeks earlier
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency proclamation on Sept. 21 to prepare California for a potentially historic El Niño season. The proclamation directs agencies to stage sandbags and pumps and to prepare for flood, landslide and coastal risks, particularly during high tides.
Long Beach proclaimed a local emergency on Sept. 22, the day after the governor’s proclamation. That declaration came before Rachel’s surf reached the Peninsula.
Sand replenishment planned
The city has said it plans to bring large volumes of sand to the area between 62nd and 70th Places to rebuild protection along the beachfront. According to initial reports, the work involves up to 100,000 cubic yards of sand, with a larger dredging project set to begin the week of Oct. 19.
Crews are working between tides to repair the bulkhead and deliver sand to the most vulnerable spots, Duggan said.
Evacuation order remains in effect
Rachel has moved inland over the desert Southwest, but coastal flood and high surf concerns remain for the Peninsula through at least Tuesday under the National Weather Service advisory. The Seaside Walk evacuation order remains in place, and the city has not announced when the red-tagged buildings could be reoccupied.
