Southern California’s coastlines experienced unexpected flooding and significant damage on Friday as an intense swell, much larger than predicted, combined with high tides. Multiple communities from Newport Beach to Long Beach were impacted, with local officials advising residents to prepare for more severe weather throughout the weekend.
Newport Beach bore the brunt of the initial surge, with water from a massive swell—double the size initially estimated—blasting through 20-foot berms erected at The Wedge. Roads from approximately 21st Street to 6th Street were washed out. Newport Beach City Councilman Joe Stapleton observed that the conditions were “the worst I’ve seen it in my 20 years on the Peninsula.” Streets on the Balboa Peninsula were submerged under at least a foot of water during high tides, prompting police to advise residents and motorists to avoid the area. The flooding was notable even for a neighborhood that regularly experiences inundations, particularly during El Niño events.
City crews were quick to respond, pumping out water and beginning to rebuild beach berms. Newport Beach Utilities Director Mark Vukojevic reported that Friday morning’s tide came in 20 inches higher than predicted, calling it "kind of record-breaking for us." Georgia Rios, a spokesperson for the city, noted that the swell was “very unprecedented coming up that high,” attributing the scale of the event to a combination of Tropical Storm Rachel and El Niño. The city declared a local emergency and urged residents to pick up sandbags to protect their homes, with Rios cautioning that even worse conditions, including rain, are forecast for Sunday.
Huntington Beach also saw high surf batter its coast, leading to localized street flooding in the Sunset Beach area, a stretch prone to such events. However, the city reported no property damage. Officials activated the Emergency Operations Center and made sand and sandbags available to residents in preparation for the weekend.
Further south, the Long Beach Peninsula sustained considerable damage. Powerful waves crumbled large sections of the boardwalk, and several homes were left with severe structural damage. The city has been hit repeatedly this season, taking damage from Hurricane Marie over Labor Day weekend and Hurricane Polo last month. Laath Martin, a spokesperson for Long Beach, described the situation as “three storms pretty much back to back to back,” noting, “This is definitely not something that we see very often.”
Long Beach officials have red-tagged two properties, including a duplex with three units, due to severe damage. Three other buildings, previously damaged by Hurricane Marie, were yellow-tagged ahead of Tropical Storm Rachel’s expected arrival. The city has already distributed more than 7,500 sandbags as residents brace for what Martin described as a "very trying weekend," adding, “It’s hard to predict exactly what will happen, but just based on forecasts, we’re preparing for more damage.”
