Storm Waves Tear Through Shoreline

Sandbags stacked near a flooded street with rescue workers in a boat — Photo: Marc Bruxelle / Shutterstock

Powerful waves tore through Long Beach’s Peninsula bulkhead and forced families from red-tagged homes as seawater surged into streets.

Story Snapshot

Long Beach’s boardwalk bulkhead failed near 64th–66th places, sending water into homes and roads.
City inspectors red-tagged multiple buildings, displacing residents on Seaside Walk.
Officials linked the damage to Tropical Storm Rachel’s surf, high tides, and other ocean forces.
Crews rushed pumps, sandbags, and a crane to stabilize about 30 feet of failed shoreline protection.

What Happened on the Peninsula

Long Beach officials reported that waves broke through the Peninsula boardwalk’s wooden bulkhead between 64th and 66th places. Seawater reached homes and side streets, and the city ordered evacuations in the hardest-hit area. Crews worked into the night to place heavy sandbags and pump out trapped water. Officials said roughly 30 feet of the bulkhead suffered major damage as lumber gave way under the surf. A crane and emergency teams focused on bracing the exposed gap.

Inspectors deemed several structures unsafe. The city red-tagged eight buildings covering about 13 addresses along the 6400 and 6500 blocks of Seaside Walk, with at least one more yellow-tagged. Residents in those buildings could not stay inside until repairs are made. Images showed undermined walkways, damaged boardwalk sections, and decks hanging near the edge. One report listed nine red-tagged buildings, but most accounts converged on 13 affected addresses pending final logs.

Why the Waves Were So Destructive

Reporters described a mix of forces that raised risk well beyond a normal day at the beach. Tropical Storm Rachel pushed strong swells toward south-facing shores. High tides stacked water even higher over several days. The Los Angeles Times cited a “triple threat” of Rachel’s energy, a long-period ocean pulse called a Kelvin wave, and peak tides that increased flooding from Newport Beach to Long Beach. City records later noted a 7.6-foot high tide during the event.

Earlier storms likely set the stage by stripping sand from the beach and exposing old structures to direct wave hits. Local reporting said Hurricane Marie had already removed protective sand cover, leaving parts of the bulkhead vulnerable before Rachel’s surge arrived. That sequence aligns with known coastal patterns. Damage often peaks when repeated swells follow earlier erosion, narrowing beaches and boosting wave run-up into neighborhoods during high tide windows.

Emergency Response and Next Steps

City teams moved fast to limit further loss. Workers stacked about 1,000 sandbags and deployed heavy equipment to reinforce the failed bulkhead segment. The city pumped floodwater off streets and into safer channels. Mayor Rex Richardson called the impacts “not normal” and “unprecedented for our community,” while City Manager Tom Modica described immediate fixes and longer-term plans to rebuild the boardwalk and the shoreline defense where it broke under pressure.

Long Beach homeowners along the peninsula are continuing to assess damage and reinforce their properties as strong surf, attributed to the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel, pounds the coastline and threatens beachfront homes. https://t.co/Gl5gnAxEtl pic.twitter.com/hJUEwsB6nQ

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) October 14, 2026

Policy debates will follow the cleanup. Southern California has faced similar coastal stress during past El Niño seasons, when long-period waves and high tides combine to erode beaches and flood low-lying blocks. Federal science tools, such as the United States Geological Survey’s Coastal Storm Modeling System, have been used to map these risks and test solutions. Those tools can help local leaders weigh repair designs, beach nourishment, and costs before the next round of heavy surf.

Why This Matters Beyond the Beach

Homeowners lost access overnight, and repair costs will ripple through city budgets and insurance bills. Taxpayers across the political spectrum see the same pattern: fragile infrastructure fails, emergency crews rush in, and long-term fixes lag behind the next crisis. Whether you want stronger sea walls, more sand, or smarter building rules, the common ground is clear. Communities need honest plans, transparent costs, and faster action than the storm cycle that keeps washing away stopgaps.