7 Dana Point homes red-tagged due to damage from high surf
Several homes along a Dana Point street were red-tagged due to damage from the powerful surf that has battered the Southern California coastline in recent days
According to a news release from city officials on Tuesday, seven Beach Street homes, located in the Capistrano Beach neighborhood between Dana Point Harbor and San Clemente, were red-tagged, and two other homes were also yellow-tagged. The news comes with another round of high tide expected in the evening.
"The City has been and remains in communication with the Capistrano Bay District community and is monitoring for damage," the release said. "City staff have been and will remain on site to inspect damage and, when appropriate, place tags and advise residents to vacate homes that exhibit structural damage and make them unsafe."
Officials said that the first home was found damaged last week, on August 28, when a residential deck was destroyed.
"The affected property owners are collaborating with a coastal consultant and engineering firm to undertake emergency measures to protect their property," the release said.
Interim work being conducted on Tuesday included installing a boulder revetment behind homes to protect them from the wave action.
Video from the scene showed multiple collapsed decks and sea walls as a constant deluge of waves continued to batter the beachfront properties.
"Our sea wall started to fail on Thursday. So, we had some people come in and do emergency repairs," said Shalesh Gupta, whose home is one of the many impacted. "It just wasn't adequate, so more and more of our sea wall started to fail."
His patio "fell into the ocean" on Saturday, followed by their living room and bedrooms.
Gupta said that he was granted an emergency permit to tear down the remainder of their home.
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said that sand replenishment is necessary in the area, including the LOSSAN Rail Corridor, to protect the coast.
"On a temporary basis, they are trying to get some riffraff boulders in here, some sand in here behind the boulders," Foley said. "In the last three years, we've deposited about 100,000 cubic yards of sand at Capo Beach, which is north of this area. What the scientists tell me, and the engineers, is that that sand, thank goodness, has made its way to Beach Road in the normal process. But, it's not enough."
She said that they realistically need 1 million cubic yards of sand to help replenish the beach.
Dana Point is just one of several Southern California communities that felt the impact of the extremely strong surf generated by Hurricane Marie, which churned hundreds of miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean over the weekend. In Malibu, more than 30 homes were placed under evacuation orders due to similar damage being caused by the powerful waves. Almost two dozen Long Beach homes were also evacuated on Monday night because of the surf, which damaged the boardwalk.
