Portuguese Bend landslide accelerates after high tides
The ground is shifting faster than in August, though well below the pace recorded a year earlier.
Ground in Portuguese Bend is again sliding faster, now exceeding an inch each week. Rancho Palos Verdes officials said the pace has increased since August but remains far slower than it was at the same point last year. They linked the change to shoreline erosion after tropical storm waves struck Southern California in mid-October.
Several unusually rainy years had previously accelerated the slide, with some locations shifting as much as 1 foot weekly. Wells installed by the city have helped by removing groundwater, and the overall movement has eased from that peak. The damage has not disappeared. Large cracks remain across the area, including chasms reaching 20 feet in depth, and the deeper instability is unlikely to be fully halted.
The city is also getting ready for heavy winter rain associated with a super El Niño expected in the coming weeks. Measures such as closing large fissures held up during the latest rainfall. Pump trucks were not required along Palos Verdes Drive South, even though the route commonly floods when rain falls over the landslide zone.
Why it matters: Continuing ground movement leaves nearby property and a flood-prone roadway facing further disruption during the coming wet period.
- LAist