Make California Post a Preferred Source Tropical Storm Rachel has wreaked havoc along the Southern California coast, ripping apart a century-old boardwalk, leaving eight homes unsafe and sending blistering winds inland.
In Long Beach, powerful waves tore through wooden slats along the historic waterfront boardwalk, with seawater breaching the remaining structure ahead of Saturday night’s high tide, video shows.
By Saturday evening, the battered boardwalk had become inaccessible, with officials posting “No trespassing” signs as crews scrambled to shore up vulnerable areas before more damaging waves arrived.
Eight structures along the city’s Peninsula have been red-tagged as unsafe to enter, while another was yellow-tagged, allowing residents limited access to retrieve belongings but prohibiting occupancy until the property is deemed safe, Mayor Rex Richardson said.
Meanwhile, in the Inland Empire footage showed a structure being ripped from the ground as two people desperately tried to stop it from being blown away by powerful winds.
The gusts soon overpower the man, lifting him off the ground and sending him reeling as the storm unleashed its full force.
Video captured the frightening extent of the destruction, including a crack running from the foundation to the roof of one waterfront home.
“It’s really heartbreaking to see how much has been affected with the surf and the high tides and everything. I mean, people are losing their houses,” Long Beach neighbor Stacey Sniezak told ABC7 Eyewitness News.
Sniezak, who has lived on 65th Street for 45 years, said she was devastated by the damage unfolding just steps from her home.
“It’s just impossible to fix at this point, and I don’t know how they’re going to do that,” she said.
The latest destruction comes as officials warn that the worst coastal conditions may not yet be over.
“It is not normal that we see this type of activity,” Richardson said Saturday. “Just in this season, this marks the third hurricane in just six weeks.”
“We saw Hurricane Marie over Labor Day, which was followed soon by Hurricane Polo, and now Rachel is bringing with it more high tides, more surf, erosion that continues to cause damage to properties and damage along our coastline,” he added.
A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for residents on 64th and 65th streets along Seaside Walk, where homes have been battered by repeated rounds of heavy surf.
“We’ve closed off vehicular access to the Peninsula for residents only,” Richardson said. “We’re encouraging everyone else to avoid the Peninsula all weekend, so that our city crews can have access and best perform this critical work.”
Long Beach officials have distributed 7,600 sandbags to help residents protect their properties, bringing the total handed out across three recent storms to roughly 15,000.
The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood warning for Los Angeles County beaches through 3 p.m. Sunday, cautioning that vulnerable south-facing beaches — particularly in Long Beach and Malibu — faced potentially damaging flooding.
High tides of up to 7.6 feet were expected each morning, while forecasters warned that conditions could worsen Sunday as ocean swells, strong winds and rain combine.
“We’re looking at an unprecedented high tide, potentially 7.8 to 8 feet, which is significant for this area,” Long Beach Fire Department Assistant Chief Jake Heflin said.
Rain could add to the misery, with up to a half-inch forecast in Long Beach on Sunday, potentially worsening flooding in low-lying areas across the city.
“We’re not just talking about the peninsula, we’re not talking just about Naples, we’re talking about the potential for a citywide impact,” Heflin said.
The storm’s effects extend beyond the waterfront, with the National Weather Service warning of significant beach erosion, strong rip currents and hazardous coastal conditions. Waves of 4 to 7 feet were forecast Sunday, alongside potentially dangerous winds over coastal waters.
Meanwhile, post-tropical Storm Rachel made landfall along northern Baja California, north of Ensenada, sparing San Diego the worst of the system but bringing bands of torrential rain and severe thunderstorms from California’s Imperial Valley eastward into Arizona, where forecasters warned of a serious flash-flood threat.
Officials urged residents to stay away from beaches, coastal walkways and vulnerable structures, and warned drivers never to bypass barricades or attempt to cross floodwaters of unknown depth.
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