Long Beach to begin "the work toward recovery" as evacuation warnings for the Peninsula remain

Crews in Long Beach continue to build sand berms and fortify areas near the Peninsula boardwalk on Monday to prevent further damage from ocean tidal impacts, as Mayor Rex Richardson warns, "We are not out of the woods yet."

Boardwalk repair work will begin on Tuesday during low tide conditions, starting "the work toward recovery," Richardson said in a Monday news conference. 

Tropical Storm Rachel impacted Southern California's coast over the weekend, prompting Long Beach to declare a local state of emergency, with thousands of sandbags distributed and crews working to reinforce coastal defenses.

By Sunday evening, the National Weather Service downgraded its Coastal Flood Warning to an advisory, as certain south-facing beach communities experienced extensive damage.

In Long Beach, high tides began surging onto the boardwalk and into oceanfront homes on Friday, leading to a city-issued mandatory evacuation order for homes on Seaside Walk between 64th and 66th Place. Eight structures remain red-tagged, with one yellow-tagged.

Richardson said on Monday that while the evacuation advisory for the Peninsula has been lifted, evacuation warnings remain in place for homes near the affected properties, and only residents are allowed access to the Peninsula.

"Eight buildings containing 13 residents remain red-tagged. One building remains yellow-tagged. Damage to affected properties continues to worsen, but no additional buildings have been tagged at this point," Richardson said.

The city's immediate priorities include assessing structural damage, making emergency repairs, restoring the protective barriers, and advancing major beach replenishment work.

"Three major storm systems in six weeks have certainly exposed vulnerabilities in coastal communities, and we have to prepare for even more severe conditions through this El Niño season. Our responsibility is to use what we're learning now to build stronger protections for the future," Richardson said.

Previously scheduled repair work to replenish sand in the impacted areas begins next week.

The Alamitos Bay Entrance Dredging project, planned since 2023, will deepen the entrance to the bay and use some of the dredged sand to replenish and widen Peninsula Beach. It has been more than 20 years since the entrance channel was last dredged, according to the city.

"So the goal here is not simply to replace what has been damaged. We will certainly make our infrastructure safe or replace or repair the boardwalk, but this is about making sure that we're taking the steps to have a more resilient coastline in the years ahead for generations to come," Richardson said.