Orange County coastline faces possibility of significant erosion with El Niño looming

The Orange County coastline is facing significant erosion with the looming El Niño winter, and already some parts of the shoreline are being impacted by the powerful surf. 

On Monday, Laguna Beach city leaders announced that Aliso Beach's west parking lot was closed due to high surf and wave activity from the weekend, which "pushed a large amount of sand and water" onto the lot near Aliso Beach Park. The water caused erosion and undermining around the edges of the lot and some palm trees in the area. 

Laguna Beach city workers then removed electrical lines that were mounted to the palm trees so they could prevent further complications if more parts of the parking lot failed. It's unclear exactly how long the lot was expected to stay closed as crews removed failed pavement and moved sand to backfill the eroded edges throughout the day on Monday. 

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the El Niño increases chances that powerful winter storms hit Southern California more frequently than normal, leading to a higher risk of coastal erosion along with flash floods and mudslides.

It's just one part of the coastline that has experienced complications from powerful surf in recent months. 

In early August, Metrolink temporarily suspended some operations through the LOSSAN Corridor because of high tides, and in June, powerful king tides led to flooding concerns all along the Southern California coast. 

Further north in Los Angeles County, some communities like Malibu have pleaded with state officials to address the worsening coastal erosion, particularly along the iconic Pacific Coast Highway.