Homes Evacuated, Mansions Red-Tagged, Sinkhole Swallows Star's Driveway: Surf Ravages SoCal Coast

Coastal communities across Southern California on Wednesday continued to assess astounding damage from powerful surf and coastal erosion generated by Tropical Storm Marie, which forced evacuations and damaged or threatened homes, including one owned by actor Nicolas Cage.

The storm’s large south swell battered beaches, seawalls and oceanfront properties this week, stripping away sand berms and undermining coastal infrastructure in several communities. The dramatic toll is a prelude to the winter battering the California coast is expected to face as a super El Niño takes shape.

Although the swell from Marie was subsiding Wednesday, the National Weather Service warned that coastal impacts could continue through Thursday, particularly around evening high tides.

“Expect continued beach erosion, flooded sandy beach areas, bike paths, and parking lots, as well as low-lying roads,” the National Weather Service warned.

A beach hazards statement remained in effect through Thursday evening for portions of the Los Angeles County coast, where dangerous rip currents and lingering southerly swell were expected. A coastal flood advisory remains in effect for Orange and San Diego counties through Wednesday night.

Sinkhole Outside Actor's Home

In Malibu, pounding waves opened a massive sinkhole at Cage's beachfront property along Sea Level Drive, prompting the city to declare a local emergency Tuesday. The waves also ruptured a gas main, prompting Southern California Gas Co. crews to shut off service.

An evacuation order remained in effect Wednesday along Sea Level Drive as officials warned that high tides and rain associated with Marie, formerly a hurricane, could further destabilize the area.

The private beachfront road was closed as city building officials and SoCal Gas assessed the damage. Five homes were red-tagged, barring entry, officials said.

Malibu officials said they were also monitoring erosion near Pacific Coast Highway in the Palisades Fire burn area and at Westward Beach as strong waves and high tides continued to affect the shoreline.

'These Homes Are Just Trashed'

Farther south, the surf inflicted even more extensive damage along Beach Road in Dana Point's Capistrano Bay District.

Eight homes there have been deemed uninhabitable and three others were yellow-tagged, which means access to them has been restricted, as of 10:50 p.m. One home partially collapsed into the ocean.

Truckloads of boulders were being placed along the shoreline Wednesday in an emergency effort to protect the remaining structures.

“As of now, the city will continue to collaborate with the Capistrano Bay District community in a support role,” Dana Point city spokesperson Jessica Spaulding told Patch, noting that the city is neither the property owner nor the agency responsible for emergency coastal permits.

“In the meantime, the interim emergency work currently underway includes installation of a boulder revetment behind the homes to protect them from wave action,” Spaulding said.

Orange County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Katrina Foley visited the area Tuesday and said homes with piers appeared to be faring better than older structures built directly on the sand.

“Those homes built on the sand in the 1950s — those homes are just trashed,” Foley said. “One house was completely demolished.”

Foley said the destruction underscored the need for long-term beach replenishment projects that could create a wider buffer between homes and breaking waves.

Residents described the damage in stark terms.

Donal Russell, general manager of the Capistrano Bay District, called the situation “a disaster."

“We’re playing chase, which is the worst way to deal with the situation,” Russell told the Orange County Register. “It kind of snuck up on us.”

'No Muscle Left To Fight'

In Long Beach, roughly 20 oceanfront homes along Seaside Walk between 63rd and 67th Place were placed under mandatory evacuation orders Monday evening after surf damaged the boardwalk and compromised a seawall.

Officials found cracked and damaged concrete around several homes and ordered residents out as a precaution while building inspectors evaluated whether erosion had threatened their structural integrity.

The Long Beach Post reported Tuesday that residents remained unable to return while inspections continued and the boardwalk was closed to pedestrians.

Waves had removed much of the sand that normally shields the Peninsula homes, leaving about a 15-foot drop from the boardwalk to exposed rocks at low tide, according to the publication.

The loss of sand and damage to the seawall raised concerns that water could move beneath the boardwalk and erode soil supporting nearby homes.

Dennis Poulsen, who built his beachfront home in 2005, told the Long Beach Post he had never seen the back side of the seawall exposed before.

“It just has no muscle left to fight,” Poulsen told the publication.

NBC Los Angeles reported that at least 12 garages were damaged while crews inspected homes for structural problems and soil erosion.

The Los Angeles Times reported that protective sand berms had been washed away and concrete slabs between some homes were cracking or buckling, with some fissures extending toward or beneath homes.

Resident Paula Attina told ABC 7 that the force of the waves caused her house to shake.

“The entire house — it feels like an earthquake,” Attina told the station.

“We just hope we will still have a house at the end of this,” she said.

Long Beach Assistant Fire Chief Jake Heflin told reporters that water was already reaching the boardwalk before high tide, calling the conditions serious. He said sand carried inland by the surf also entered storm drains and quickly overwhelmed them, contributing to localized street flooding.

Train Service Impacted

Metrolink said tracks between Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Oceanside remain closed because of high tides and hazardous conditions along the coastal rail corridor.

Orange County and Inland Empire-Orange County Line trains are continuing to begin and end service at the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Station, with no confirmed timeline for when the tracks will reopen.

High tides are expected to persist through Thursday, Sept. 10, according to the agency.

The South Orange County rail corridor has repeatedly faced service disruptions in recent years because of coastal erosion, landslides and other instability along the bluffs and shoreline.

Strengthening El Niño

The coastal damage comes as experts have warned that Southern California could face heightened erosion and flooding risks in the coming months.

Patch reported last month that a strengthening El Niño is expected to push already elevated sea levels even higher along the California coast this fall and winter. Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientist Mark Merrifield said California could experience some of the highest sea levels ever recorded along the coast during the event.

• See also: Flooding, Undercut Cliffs Likely As CA Is Lashed With 'Highest Sea Levels Ever' This Winter

Signs of erosion were already emerging before Marie arrived. Earlier this month, part of Point Dume Beach in Malibu was closed after high tides and large swells created unstable bluff edges and steep drop-offs.

The latest damage in Malibu, Dana Point and Long Beach has now provided a more immediate example of what powerful surf can do when waves reach homes, roads and other infrastructure built close to the shoreline.

City News Service contributed to this report.