Long Beach officials concerned about structural damage from usually high tides driven by Tropical Storm Marie evacuated some 20 homes along the Long Beach Peninsula Monday evening.
Fire department officials evacuated residences along Seaside Walk, from 63rd to 67th Place in Long Beach after the seawall and boardwalk were found to be compromised, the department said in a post on Instagram.
“There are also reports of damaged and cracked concrete in between several of these homes,” the department stated.
The area historically has been hardest hit by high surf when powerful waves pass between the Alamitos Bay jetty and the breakwater which together act as a barrier between the ocean and the community.
Dramatic video Sunday showed powerful waves slamming into the seawall and the boardwalk, sending water and sand into the oceanfront neighborhood.
Sand berms built ahead of the storm were completely washed away.
Over the long weekend south-facing beaches in Long Beach and Malibu were hit particularly hard by a combination of high swells, higher-than-high tides and tropical-storm-charged waves.
High tides levels in Southern California can fluctuate from 4 to 5 feet, sometimes even reaching 6 to 6.5 feet around this time of year.
Now, unprecedented heat in the ocean, which causes water to expand, is churning out tides as high as 6.7 feet on Sunday, 7 feet on Monday evening, and a forecast 7.2 feet for Tuesday.
The Long Beach evacuation orders were issued out of an abundance of caution, officials said, to allow the city’s Building and Safety Bureau to evaluate the structural integrity and condition of the homes.
On Monday, while crews were surveying for damage, first responders spotted alarming cracks around some homes, Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Jack Crabtree told the Long Beach Post.
Concrete slabs between the homes had started to crack or buckle, with some of the fissures running all the way up to or under the homes’ walls, the news outlet reported.
City officials have closed the Peninsula area to vehicular traffic, except for residents until further notice as crews continue mitigation and response efforts.
Junipero Beach Parking lot will remain closed Monday into Tuesday due to coastal impacts.
