Southern California coastal communities are clearing up after a weekend of extreme weather that pushed floodwater through city streets and sent powerful waves crashing into beachside homes.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel reached Mexico’s Baja California over the weekend, along with southern California and Las Vegas. Although meteorologists noted that Rachel had weakened into a post-tropical cyclone by the time it neared California, it still left a trail of destruction.
Footage showed huge waves striking homes in Long Beach, tearing apart a boardwalk and forcing residents to flee. Damage to the properties was significant, leaving some at risk of collapse.
At least nine have been judged unsafe to enter, the Long Beach Post reported, meaning displaced residents cannot return to collect their personal items. The outlet also reported that the storm has drawn more than $1m from the city’s emergency reserves.
Further south, Newport Beach declared a local emergency and briefly shut its piers to “protect public safety”, pointing to “higher-than-normal surf” that flooded streets. By Monday, cleanup was under way and the piers had reopened, though officials advised residents to take care near the water.
In Las Vegas, a raging torrent of water swept over a street near the strip. The US National Weather Service said the city tied its all-time daily rainfall record for October, recording 1.08in (2.74cm) of rain into Sunday morning.
The conditions arrive as El Niño intensifies activity across the Pacific, producing large and long-lasting storms. The five most recent hurricanes in the Pacific all reached major status, with winds of at least 111mph (178.6 km/h), and one set a record for the time spent at category 5.
Phil Klotzbach, a researcher at Colorado State University who forecasts and studies storm activity, told the Associated Press that the past month had been “berserk”.
“This year, just everything that forms is just lasting a long time and getting really powerful,” he said.
California is bracing for a challenging winter with severe storms because of an exceptionally strong El Niño. Models from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicate a high chance that this could be a historic El Niño, delivering rainy wet weather, landslides and destructive high tides.
The state is among the places expected to be significantly affected by the climate pattern, although its effects are anticipated worldwide, with temperature spikes and rising global food prices.
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