Long Beach has red-tagged eight buildings after three storms in six weeks
Long Beach inspectors red-tagged eight buildings after Tropical Storm Rachel, the third storm in six weeks to hit the Peninsula boardwalk. The city's fire department dates the collapse to the first of them in early September, so Rachel added to damage already under way.
The Scientist · Science desk
13 residences are in the eight red-tagged buildings, and one building is yellow-tagged. Permanent repairs to the bulkhead and boardwalk are estimated at $1.5 million to $3.6 million, paid from the city's Tidelands Emergency Reserves.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residences in the eight red-tagged buildings | 13 residences | 3 | |
| Buildings yellow-tagged | 1 building | 3 | |
| Permanent bulkhead and boardwalk repair estimate, at least | $1.5 million | up to $3.6 million | 15 |
What happened
- Waves breached the boardwalk's protective timber bulkhead, and mud and sand inundated the Long Beach Peninsula.
- A mandatory evacuation order covered Seaside Walk between 64th and 66th Place from Friday; by Monday the advisory was lifted, but warnings stayed for nearby homes.
- Richardson said Monday that damage to the affected properties continues to worsen, though no additional buildings had been tagged.
- The city has hired a contractor for permanent repairs and puts the cost at $1.5 million to $3.6 million.
- Modica said a dredging project to widen the beach by about 200 feet with 415,000 cubic yards of sand was moved up to start Oct. 19.
Why it matters
- What doesn't add up contradiction The only climate link AFP gives is heavier rain, yet the same report says Rachel brought less rain than forecast and that surf did the damage.
- What it costs cost Permanent repairs are paid from the city's Tidelands Emergency Reserves. A harsher El Niño winter tests both that fund and the estimate itself.
- What it limits constraint Crews can work only in low-tide windows, and a storm that arrives before repairs finish meets a structure that is already weaker.
- Who has to decide decision Richardson said the goal is "not simply to replace what has been damaged." The permanent repair due by year-end is also a choice about what gets built.
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Mayor Rex Richardson's verdict, "our infrastructure was not built for this," [6] is a judgement, and the reporting supports a narrower version of it. Fire Department spokesperson Melanie Miller traced the damage from Hurricane Marie through Hurricane Polo to Rachel and said "It's been continuous damage since then." [10]
In our view that describes a repeated-loading problem. Richardson said "100 years ago it wasn't necessarily anticipated that we'd have this cadence of pressure." [7]
None of the three reports says how much of the damage belongs to each storm. They include no engineering assessment, no count of Peninsula buildings to set the eight red tags against, and no split of the surf between its listed causes.
AFP puts the surf down to a confluence of factors: the abnormal storm, high tide, El Niño and human-caused climate change [13]. Of those, El Niño is the one the reports attach a forecast to. Richardson pointed to warnings that its effects will worsen into winter [21], and city spokesperson Laath Martin said "With El Niño, we expect more storms." [22]
One count is ambiguous. The LA Times, citing a city news release, counts the eight red-tagged buildings as 13 residences [3]. CBS quotes Richardson as saying the buildings contain "13 residents" [8]. Residences and residents are different units, and the same figure appears under each.
Martin said the city expects the permanent work to be complete by the end of this year [23]. The cost estimate is wide: its top is 2.4 times its bottom [20]. Martin gave the reason as the emergency work itself, which is using up materials, so "we then have to purchase more materials to do the permanent repairs." [16]
The dredging the city accelerated has been planned since 2023, and the entrance channel was last dredged more than 20 years ago, according to the city [1]. The permanent-repair timeline, Martin said, was built around anticipated storms "to the best in our ability." Then he added: "But this far in advance, you never know." [24]
What to watch
- Whether the dredging starts on Oct. 19 as Modica said, and how much sand reaches Peninsula Beach before the next high-tide storm.
- Whether the red-tag count rises from eight buildings as damage continues to worsen.
- The final design and cost of the bulkhead and boardwalk repair against the $1.5 million to $3.6 million estimate.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives50
- Confidence70
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers- Builder
- Builder 15%
- Operator
- Operator 65%
- Investor
- Investor 20%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The Alamitos Bay Entrance Dredging project has been planned since 2023, and it has been more than 20 years since the entrance channel was last dredged, according to the city.
- [2]
City official Tom Modica said a dredging project meant to widen the beach by about 200 feet by adding some 415,000 cubic yards of sand was accelerated to begin Oct. 19.
- [3]
Inspectors red-tagged eight buildings, accounting for 13 residences, with one building yellow-tagged, according to a city news release cited by the LA Times.
- [4]
Richardson said Monday: "Damage to affected properties continues to worsen, but no additional buildings have been tagged at this point."
- [5]
Richardson described three major storm systems in six weeks as unprecedented in this region.
- [6]
Richardson urged people to prepare, saying "our infrastructure was not built for this."
- [7]
Richardson said: "100 years ago it wasn't necessarily anticipated that we'd have this cadence of pressure."
- [8]
Richardson said Monday: "Eight buildings containing 13 residents remain red-tagged."
- [9]
Richardson said the goal is "not simply to replace what has been damaged."
- [10]
Fire Department spokesperson Melanie Miller traced the boardwalk collapse from Hurricane Marie through Hurricane Polo to Tropical Storm Rachel and said "It's been continuous damage since then."
- [11]
Miller said of storm preparation: "you can only do so much during low tide; there are limited windows of opportunity."
- [12]
Waves breached the boardwalk's protective timber bulkhead, and mud and sand inundated the Long Beach Peninsula.
- [13]
Tropical Storm Rachel brought less rain than forecasters predicted, but heavy surf driven by a confluence of factors including the abnormal storm system, high tide, El Nino and human-caused climate change severely damaged some coastal properties.
- [14]
AFP wrote that human-caused climate change can worsen El Nino's impacts, and that a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, allowing rains to turn more intense.
- [15]
The city has secured a contractor to carry out permanent repairs to the bulkhead and boardwalk, estimated to cost $1.5 million to $3.6 million, paid from the city's Tidelands Emergency Reserves for coastal projects.
- [16]
Martin explained the wide cost range: "Because we're using a lot of materials right now to make emergency repairs to keep people safe, we then have to purchase more materials to do the permanent repairs."
- [17]
High tides began surging onto the boardwalk and into oceanfront homes on Friday, prompting a mandatory evacuation order for homes on Seaside Walk between 64th and 66th Place; by Monday the evacuation advisory for the Peninsula was lifted, evacuation warnings remained for homes near affected properties, and only residents were allowed access.
- [18]
Crews are reinforcing the boardwalk with lumber and using 3,000-pound sandbags to deflect wave energy on the beach side of the bulkhead.
- [19]
Miller said the collapse began when Hurricane Marie came in early September.
- [20]
The top of the permanent-repair estimate is 2.4 times the bottom.
- [21]
Richardson pointed to warnings that El Nino's effects will worsen into the winter and are expected to wreak more havoc along California's coast.
- [22]
Martin said: "With El Nino, we expect more storms."
- [23]
Martin said the city expected to complete permanent repairs to the bulkhead and boardwalk by the end of this year.
- [24]
Martin said: "They built the timeline around anticipated storms to the best in our ability. But this far in advance, you never know."
Sources
3 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cbsnews.comLong Beach to begin "the work toward recovery" as evacuation warnings for the Peninsula remain
1 article · October 12, 2026
- latimes.comHeavy surf, red-tagged homes, a battered boardwalk: Long Beach confronts costly climate reality
1 article · October 11, 2026
- phys.org'Devastating' waves leave California beach homes on brink of collapse
1 article · October 13, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- El Nino
- Coastal resilience
- Storm damage response
Entities
- City of Long Beach
- Agence France-Presse
- National Hurricane Center