Rachel Batters Southern California Coast

Tropical Storm Rachel’s powerful surf, waves and unusually high tides battered Southern California’s coast, damaging homes and roads from Dana Point and Newport Beach to Long Beach. In Capistrano Beach, erosion undermined homes; eight had already been red-tagged after an earlier storm, two were demolished, and residents feared further collapses as sidewalks and decks gave way. Long Beach officials red-tagged additional buildings and worked to address damage from repeated surf, while the city distributed sandbags and placed them beneath the Peninsula boardwalk. San Diego opened temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness as the storm brought heavy rain. Scientists attributed the flooding to an unusual combination of Rachel’s waves, high tides, warm ocean conditions and an El Niño-related wave pattern, and warned similar events could become more common amid a potentially stormy winter and rising sea levels.