Tropical Storm Rachel has battered Southern California’s coastline, destroying sections of a boardwalk more than 100 years old, forcing eight homes to be declared unsafe and driving powerful winds deep into the Inland Empire.
In Long Beach, towering waves ripped away wooden portions of the historic waterfront boardwalk. Video showed seawater surging through what remained of the structure as Saturday night’s high tide approached.
By Saturday evening, the damaged boardwalk was closed to the public. Crews worked urgently to reinforce exposed sections, while officials installed “No trespassing” signs ahead of another round of potentially destructive surf.
Eight homes on Long Beach’s Peninsula received red tags, meaning they were considered too dangerous to enter. A ninth property was given a yellow tag, permitting residents to collect essential belongings but barring them from living there until repairs and safety inspections are completed, Mayor Rex Richardson said.
In the Inland Empire, dramatic footage showed intense winds tearing a structure from its foundation as two people struggled to keep it from being carried away.
The force of the gusts quickly overwhelmed one of the men, lifting him into the air and throwing him backward as Rachel intensified across the region.
Other video revealed the storm’s severe toll, including a large fracture stretching from the foundation of one waterfront house all the way to its roof.
“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 resident Stacey Sniezak told ABC7 Eyewitness News.
Sniezak, who has lived on 65th Street for 45 years, said watching the destruction unfold so close to her home had been devastating.
“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 damage came as authorities cautioned that dangerous coastal conditions could continue and that the most severe impacts may still lie ahead.
“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.
Authorities ordered residents to evacuate homes along 64th and 65th streets near Seaside Walk, where repeated waves of heavy surf have battered properties.
“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.”
The city distributed 7,600 sandbags to help residents defend their homes and businesses from flooding. Combined with supplies provided during two earlier storms, Long Beach has handed out about 15,000 sandbags in recent weeks.
The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood warning for Los Angeles County beaches that remained in effect through 3 p.m. Sunday. Forecasters said low-lying, south-facing beaches — especially in Long Beach and Malibu — could experience damaging flooding.
Morning high tides were expected to reach as high as 7.6 feet. Officials warned that conditions could deteriorate Sunday as large swells, strong winds and rainfall combined along the coast.
“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.
Forecast rainfall of up to half an inch in Long Beach on Sunday threatened to compound the flooding, particularly in low-lying parts of 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.
