Tropical Storm Rachel damages homes and boardwalk in Long Beach

Tropical Storm Rachel has hit the Southern California coastline with high winds and massive waves, causing severe damage to waterfront properties in Long Beach. The Daily Mail and the New York Post reported that the storm ripped apart nearly 30 feet of a century-old boardwalk along the Alamitos Peninsula. High tides, flooding, and coastal destruction forced local families to evacuate from their beachfront properties, the Los Angeles Times and New York Post confirmed. [1][3][5]

City officials have moved to secure the damaged areas after assessing the destruction along the shoreline. According to the Daily Mail, officials taped off the battered boardwalk on Saturday evening with signs marking it as illegal to enter. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson stated that at least eight buildings, covering 13 addresses, were red-tagged as unsafe to enter, while another was yellow-tagged to allow residents limited access to gather their belongings, the Daily Mail and the New York Post both reported. [1][3][7]

The storm system brought high waves and coastal flooding to the region over the weekend. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Newport Beach previously closed all public beaches and piers after the storm brought winds up to 60 mph, prompting rare weather warnings for parts of Southern California. Beyond California, the storm pushed inland to set a rainfall record and cause flash flooding in Las Vegas, according to reports from KSNV and Oregon Public Broadcasting. [5][15]

Local authorities in Long Beach are continuing to evaluate the structural impacts along the waterfront. KTLA reported that city officials are assessing the total damage from Tropical Storm Rachel as the area remains under threat from powerful waves. [6][10]