Long Beach is dealing with continued high surf and tides, as Tropical Storm Rachel brought additional damage to the Peninsula just weeks after two previous hurricanes impacted the coast. City and fire inspectors red-tagged two structures and yellow-tagged a third on Seaside Walk on Thursday, adding to property damage from earlier storms.
The city announced Friday that its plan to protect residents and properties from Rachel's impacts continues. On the 6400 and 6500 blocks of Seaside Walk, city and fire inspectors completed another review of threatened structures. This led to preliminary red tags for two buildings and a yellow tag for an additional building, issued to ensure resident safety. Including one building previously yellow-tagged due to Hurricane Marie, there are now four damaged structures in total—two red-tagged and two yellow-tagged. A red tag indicates that a structure is unsafe for entry, while a yellow tag means a building owner can enter temporarily to gather belongings but cannot stay until the house is deemed structurally safe.
The National Weather Service downgraded Hurricane Rachel from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm on Thursday morning at 2 a.m. Despite the downgrade, video from Long Beach, taken around 1 a.m. Friday, showed high tides emerging over the boardwalk.
The impact from Rachel comes just weeks after Hurricane Marie and Hurricane Polo also brought significant effects to the Long Beach coastline and the Peninsula. City crews have been working consistently since, implementing ongoing storm response and mitigation efforts, a seven-point coastal protection plan, and upcoming major sand replenishment projects. These initiatives aim to rebuild the beach and strengthen the community’s defenses for the upcoming winter storm season, the city of Long Beach announced Thursday night.
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson emphasized the city's focus. "Protecting our residents is our top priority," he stated, acknowledging the impact of high surf and erosion on the Peninsula community and appreciating the emergency response teams. He urged residents to be prepared and follow city guidance.
Persistent wave energy caused additional damage to the peninsula bulkhead between 65th and 66th Place, with approximately 30 feet of the bulkhead experiencing significant damage. City crews worked during low tide to repair as much as possible while conditions allowed, and fortified the remaining area with about 1,000 sandbags where existing lumber had been destroyed by wave action.
Councilmember Kristina Duggan noted that the "unprecedented surf and swells" continue to put city infrastructure and private property at risk. She added that city teams are working diligently between tides to repair the damaged bulkhead and deliver sand to vulnerable areas. Conditions are expected to remain critical through the weekend and into next week, she said.
Community members are urged to get sandbags now and keep them through the winter storm season. Thus far, the city has distributed more than 6,300 sandbags in preparation for Tropical Storm Rachel and over 13,600 across these three recent storms.
The city’s storm preparation and response efforts this week and during the recent storms are part of its broader strategy for the developing El Niño and winter storm season. In alignment with Governor Gavin Newsom’s September 21 emergency proclamation, the city of Long Beach proclaimed a Local Emergency on September 22. This proclamation allows the city to take extraordinary preparedness measures and exercise emergency powers authorized to prepare for and respond to the threatened impacts of the 2026-27 El Niño and winter storm season.
