LONG BEACH, CA — Seawater spilled onto a Long Beach street this week as unusually high tides pushed water beyond the shoreline, with another high tide expected Wednesday night.
High water climbed steps and pushed onto Bay Shore Avenue Monday night, and water reached the street again Tuesday as Long Beach experienced its highest tides of the month, according to FOX 11.
Residents along Bay Shore Avenue told the station they watched water rise to the seawall, with one couple moving trash cans to prevent them from being carried away.
The National Weather Service has a Coastal Flood Advisory in effect for Los Angeles County beaches through midnight Wednesday, warning of minor flooding around high tide in vulnerable coastal areas.
The flooding comes as Long Beach crews continue efforts to protect vulnerable areas of the city's coastline.
Todd Leland, manager of the city's Marine Bureau, told the station that crews have been building up a sand berm along the Peninsula ahead of high tides, using the same strategy employed during elevated tides in June and July.
Bay Shore Avenue, however, does not have a sand berm and is instead protected by a seawall. This week's new moon and the alignment of the sun and moon are producing some of the month's highest tides.
Christine Whitcraft, a biological sciences professor at Cal State Long Beach, told FOX 11 that the flooding illustrates how naturally occurring high tides can interact with rising sea levels. Another high tide is expected around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday, the last of this stretch before water levels begin to recede.
The city is also planning a $14.5 million dredging project that could begin in late October and extend the beach by roughly 260 feet. Leland said relatively calm surf gives officials confidence that the Peninsula's sand berm will continue protecting nearby neighborhoods.
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