100+ Buildings Damaged By Flooding In Orange County As Tides Recede

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Record-breaking tides damaged more than 100 structures in Huntington Beach, with experts warning that the worst may still be ahead.

In Huntington Beach, 114 homes and other structures sustained water damage as seawater flooded low-lying areas such as Sunset Beach and Huntington Harbour, according to Huntington Beach City officials.

Six homes were yellow-tagged, restricting access due to safety concerns.

The flooding turned stretches of Pacific Coast Highway and surrounding residential roads into waterways through the week.

In Sunset Beach, residents described damage left behind after days of flooding that sent salt water into homes despite extensive preparation.

"We've never had this kind of thing," Sunset Beach Women's Club President Dawn McCormack told KTLA.

According to McCormack, nine of the club's members had two to three inches of water in their homes.

Now, as city crews and residents work to clean up, scientists warned SoCal residents that another round of even higher tides could come in November.

Water levels during the peak of El Niño can rise another one to two feet above those record-breaking tides recorded this week, especially if powerful storms coincide with king tides, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"If you imagine the amount of water that we saw this week, and then you add a foot to that... plus a low-pressure weather system, that's going to be devastating for a lot of people who have never seen that much water," UC Berkeley Professor Kristina Hill told the Times.

The next major concern is the return of king tides around Thanksgiving, followed by additional high-tide events around Christmas and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.