‘Devastating’ waves leave California beach homes on brink of collapse

In Long Beach, California, emergency efforts are underway following severe coastal damage from Tropical Storm Rachel, with homes dangerously close to collapse and mandatory evacuations in place.

Although the storm brought less rain than predicted, a confluence of factors, including El Nino and climate change, drove damaging heavy surf.

City officials are accelerating plans for immediate and long-term resilience strategies, focusing on infrastructure repair and coastal restoration.

Mayor Rex Richardson emphasized the urgent need for climate resiliency, anticipating worsening El Nino effects and advocating for preparedness against future threats.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 13 — Emergency repairs and cleanup were underway yesterday in California’s wave-battered city of Long Beach, where several homes appeared on the brink of collapse and remained too dangerous to enter.

Tropical Storm Rachel brought less rain than forecasters had predicted but the heavy surf — driven by a confluence of factors including the abnormal storm system, high tide, the impact of El Nino and human-caused climate change — was enough to severely damage some coastal properties.

Dramatic photos and video footage showed homes along the city’s peninsula teetering precariously, while its historic boardwalk was partially swept away.

“These kind of impacts are not normal. They’re unprecedented for our community,” said Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson during a weekend press conference.

“This is a sobering reminder of the power of nature,” he added.

Some residents who lived on particularly threatened blocks were issued mandatory evacuation orders through today.

Richardson urged people to take seriously warnings to prepare, including picking up city-provided sandbags, saying “our infrastructure was not built for this.”

“This accelerates all of our urgency to address climate resiliency on our coastline,” he added.

The local leader pointed to warnings that El Nino’s effects will worsen into the winter and are expected to wreak more havoc along California’s coast.

City official Tom Modica detailed a plan at the press conference for immediate and longer-term resiliency strategies, including repair of the damaged boardwalk as well as its failed bulkhead, a vertical retaining structure that’s meant to stabilise waterfront property.

Modica also pointed to a dredging project intended to widen the beach by about 200 feet (60 metres) by adding some 415,000 cubic yards (317,000 cubic metres) of sand, a project he said was now accelerated to begin October 19.

The National Hurricane Center said the worst of Rachel was over but “hazardous coastal conditions” could persist for days, with the highest waves coinciding with high tides, causing life-threatening surf and rip currents.

Pacific hurricanes that impact southern California to this degree are rare.

Rachel was the latest named entrant in this year’s unusually active season, weather charged by the recurring El Nino pattern that this time around is particularly extreme.

El Nino raises surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean and causes global changes in winds and rainfall.

In the Atlantic, it tends to rein in the strength and frequency of hurricanes, but in the Pacific it has the opposite effect.

Human-caused climate change can worsen El Nino’s impacts.

A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, allowing rains to turn more intense.

Paris Henken, a US competitive sailor, said in a viral Instagram post that she had been a tenant of one of the buildings now on the brink of collapse.

“An ocean front 1 bedroom that had everything we could have ever wanted. As an Olympic sailor aiming for LA2028 I was steps away from my playground (maybe a little too close),” she wrote in the caption.

“To see three storms undo a place that brought so much peace is devastating,” Henken continued.

She also referenced the chorus of criticism that many homes along California’s coast belong to the wealthy or are second homes, and that they never should’ve been built on such a vulnerable landscape.

“Although it’s true the Peninsula is home to many multi-million-dollar homes, our little community was far from that,” wrote the athlete.

“We are renters and can get up and move, but the sense of stability this apartment gave us was everything to me.” — AFP

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加利福尼亚州长滩市受热带风暴瑞秋的影响，沿海地区遭受严重破坏，目前已展开紧急救援工作，房屋濒临倒塌，强制疏散令已经生效。

虽然这场风暴带来的降雨量比预期的要少，但包括厄尔尼诺现象和气候变化在内的多种因素共同导致了破坏性的巨浪。

市政府官员正在加快制定短期和长期韧性战略计划，重点是基础设施修复和海岸恢复。

市长雷克斯·理查森强调了提高气候适应能力的迫切性，预计厄尔尼诺现象的影响将日益恶化，并倡导做好应对未来威胁的准备。

洛杉矶，10 月 13 日——昨天，在加州遭受海浪袭击的长滩市，紧急维修和清理工作正在进行中。该市多栋房屋似乎濒临倒塌，而且仍然非常危险，无法进入。

热带风暴瑞秋带来的降雨量比预报员预测的要少，但由异常风暴系统、高潮、厄尔尼诺现象的影响以及人为造成的气候变化等多种因素共同作用而产生的巨浪，足以严重破坏一些沿海房屋。

震撼人心的照片和视频画面显示，城市半岛沿线的房屋摇摇欲坠，而历史悠久的木板路也被部分冲毁。

“这种影响并不正常，对我们社区来说是前所未有的，”长滩市市长雷克斯·理查森在周末的新闻发布会上说。

“这令人警醒地提醒我们大自然的力量，”他补充道。

一些居住在受威胁街区的居民被勒令强制撤离，撤离期限持续到今天。

理查森敦促人们认真对待警告，做好准备，包括领取市政府提供的沙袋，并表示“我们的基础设施并非为此而建”。

“这更加凸显了我们应对海岸线气候适应能力问题的紧迫性，”他补充道。

当地领导人指出，有警告称厄尔尼诺现象的影响将在冬季加剧，预计将对加州沿海地区造成更大的破坏。

市政官员汤姆·莫迪卡在新闻发布会上详细介绍了近期和长期的复原力策略计划，包括修复受损的木板路及其失效的防波堤（一种旨在稳定滨水房产的垂直挡土结构）。

莫迪卡还提到了一项疏浚工程，该工程旨在​​通过添加约 415,000 立方码（317,000 立方米）的沙子，将海滩拓宽约 200 英尺（60 米）。他说，该工程现在已加快进度，将于 10 月 19 日开始。

美国国家飓风中心表示，瑞秋飓风最糟糕的时期已经过去，但“危险的沿海状况”可能会持续数日，最高海浪将与高潮同时出现，造成危及生命的海浪和离岸流。

对南加州造成如此严重影响的太平洋飓风实属罕见。

瑞秋是今年异常活跃的飓风季中最新被命名的参赛者，今年的飓风季受到反复出现的厄尔尼诺现象的影响，而这一次的厄尔尼诺现象尤为极端。

厄尔尼诺现象会升高太平洋中部和东部海域的表面温度，并导致全球风和降雨发生变化。

在大西洋，它往往会抑制飓风的强度和频率，但在太平洋，它却会产生相反的效果。

人为造成的气候变化会加剧厄尔尼诺现象的影响。

温暖的大气中含有更多水汽，使得降雨强度更大。

美国竞技帆船运动员帕里斯·亨肯在一条疯传的 Instagram 帖子中表示，她曾是其中一栋濒临倒塌的建筑物的租户。

“这是一套海景一居室公寓，拥有我们梦寐以求的一切。作为一名目标是参加2028年洛杉矶奥运会的帆船运动员，我离我的训练场地只有几步之遥（也许有点太近了），”她在配文中写道。

“看到三场风暴摧毁了一个曾经带来如此多和平的地方，真是令人痛心，”亨肯继续说道。

她还提到了批评之声，认为加州沿海的许多房屋属于富人或作为第二套住房，而且这些房屋根本不应该建在如此脆弱的地貌上。

“虽然半岛上确实有很多价值数百万美元的豪宅，但我们的小社区与此相去甚远，”这位运动员写道。

“我们是租客，随时可以搬走，但这套公寓带给我们的稳定感对我来说至关重要。”——法新社

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