Tropical Storm Rachel Damages Homes and Boardwalk on Long Beach Peninsula

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel brought powerful surf and elevated water levels to the Long Beach Peninsula this weekend, damaging oceanfront homes, destroying sections of the historic boardwalk, and prompting emergency evacuations and structural red-tags along Seaside Walk.

The Peninsula, a narrow sandspit at the southeast end of Long Beach that separates Alamitos Bay from the Pacific Ocean, has been particularly vulnerable. Waves overtopped and damaged the protective bulkhead and the 1920s-era Seaside Walk boardwalk, especially between the 64th and 66th Places. Water flooded homes and streets, with some structures showing cracks, shifting foundations, and partial collapses under the force of the surf.

City inspectors red-tagged nine buildings covering 13 addresses as unsafe to enter. One additional building received a yellow tag restricting occupancy. A mandatory evacuation order remains in effect through noon Tuesday for homes between the 64th and 66th Places on Seaside Walk, while evacuation warnings cover additional residences on nearby streets and blocks. Residents have not been allowed to re-enter the most severely affected properties due to collapse risks.

Emergency crews have worked to reinforce the bulkhead with lumber and heavy 3,000-pound sandbags positioned by crane. The city distributed thousands of sandbags to residents and is pumping water from streets. Officials are also accelerating sand replenishment efforts, with plans to truck in tens of thousands of cubic yards of sand in the near term and a larger dredging project to follow.

Rachel, which made landfall in northern Baja California as a tropical storm before its remnants moved inland, produced little of the heavy rainfall some forecasts had suggested for Long Beach but drove dangerous coastal conditions. Elevated water levels-linked to El Niño patterns, a Kelvin wave, and astronomical tides-combined with high surf from the system and prior storms. The National Weather Service has noted that the most intense alignment of peak swell, high tide, and wind did not fully materialize, but significant erosion and flooding still occurred. Coastal flood warnings have eased to advisories as conditions are expected to gradually improve through Tuesday.

This marks the latest in a series of coastal impacts from recent tropical systems affecting Southern California. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson and city officials have emphasized life safety as the priority while assessing longer-term repairs to public infrastructure and urging private property owners to contact insurers. Further evaluations of structural damage continue as tides recede.