California Coastal Homes Teeter on the Edge as Tropical Storm Rachel Batters Beaches

California residents are facing heartache along the southern parts of the coast after remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel blew through. According to ABC7 News, Orange County was particularly hard hit after the storm brought high tides and pounding surf to the coastal community.

As of the morning of Oct. 12, several homes in Dana Point were red-tagged. Multiple homes were also on the verge of falling into the sea in the harder-hit neighborhoods, where other infrastructure like sidewalks had also begun to fail. 

This comes hot on the heels of a storm that hit in September, prompting eight homes to be red-tagged and two to be demolished. Residents say that the homes in this region are at an especially high risk since they are built on sand. 

Now, city crews are working to reinforce the coastline to help protect the region from additional flooding as worried residents prepare for the worst. 

Footage of the flood damage captured by the Global Weather Network shows buildings and homes being battered by waves as streets flooded from the pouring rain. Some of the footage taken during the storm even showed the winds whipping through town, toppling trees and signposts in the process. 

The aftermath of the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel prompted seven homes in the City of Dana Point to be red-tagged while 13 received yellow tags. Two homes have already been demolished in the area, and ABC7 News says that another is scheduled to be taken down in the Capistrano Bay District. 

According to CivicPlus, homes that receive a red tag mean that they are not safe for entry, and the county assigns property owners a case manager who can help them through the rebuilding process.

Meanwhile, yellow-tagged buildings may have restrictions on occupancy or use, and typically will need an expert to come out and remediate whatever damage was done. After that has been handled, a building inspector will come back out and let the homeowner or tenant know if it’s safe to resume occupancy. 

The storm surge wiped out hundreds of feet of beach, bringing waves right up to the street. The city brought in excavators and bulldozers to reinforce the coastline in an attempt to protect the homes and businesses that sit along the edge of the beach.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Newport Beach resident Dustin Hopkins told ABC7 News. “It’s amazing how quickly they got this done, because I was here last week, and they didn’t have all this. They hadn’t implemented this yet.”

Local NPR member station KQED says that an El Niño-associated Kelvin wave could continue to batter the Bay Area this week as well, causing water levels to be 1 to 1.5 feet above normal, which means California’s coastal residents could be dealt another blow before the week is over.