Aerial video shows several homes in Dana Point are teetering on the edge of sea-side cliff after back-to-back atmospheric rivers pounded Southern California with rain leading to erosion. (Video: KTTV)
Days of heavy rain caused erosion to one Southern California blufftop community, leaving several multi-million dollar homes appearing to be on the edge of falling over a cliff into the ocean below.Â
Aerial video captured by FOX 11 Los Angeles shows three homes in Dana Point, south of Laguna Beach, at the top of an eroded cliff edge. An Orange County supervisor told the news outlet the homes are being monitored by building inspectors, but there is no structural damage to the homes.
Dana Point city officials provided this statement to FOX 11:
“A landslide occurred early last week at a blufftop location adjacent to Scenic Drive in the city of Dana Point. The city’s geotechnical engineer and a building inspector went out to the site to assess the situation, as well as talk with the homeowner who owns the residence and slope where the failure occurred. Currently, the city has confirmed that there is no imminent threat to the home, and no further action is being taken at this time.”
Dana Point, CA – February 13: An aerial view of three large homes in Dana Point are in danger of falling into the ocean after a cliffside gave way over the weekend after recent heavy rains in Dana Point Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. The double A-frame mansion was awarded the 39th spot on Dana Point’s Historic Resources Register. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive where the remnants of a large chunk of land is visible at the base of the cliff. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive. Â (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Â )
Dana Point, CA – February 13: An aerial view of three large homes in Dana Point are in danger of falling into the ocean after a cliffside gave way over the weekend after recent heavy rains in Dana Point Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. The double A-frame mansion was awarded the 39th spot on Dana Point’s Historic Resources Register. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive where the remnants of a large chunk of land is visible at the base of the cliff. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive. Â (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Â )
Dana Point, CA – February 13: An aerial view of three large homes in Dana Point are in danger of falling into the ocean after a cliffside gave way over the weekend after recent heavy rains in Dana Point Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. The double A-frame mansion was awarded the 39th spot on Dana Point’s Historic Resources Register. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive where the remnants of a large chunk of land is visible at the base of the cliff. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive. Â (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Â )
Dana Point, CA – February 13: An aerial view of three large homes in Dana Point are in danger of falling into the ocean after a cliffside gave way over the weekend after recent heavy rains in Dana Point Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. The double A-frame mansion was awarded the 39th spot on Dana Point’s Historic Resources Register. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive where the remnants of a large chunk of land is visible at the base of the cliff. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive. Â (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Â )
Dana Point, CA – February 13: An aerial view of the 1957 Headlands cliffside Cook’s Point double A-frame mansion deck, one of three large homes in Dana Point are in danger of falling into the ocean after a cliffside gave way over the weekend after recent heavy rains in Dana Point Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. The double A-frame mansion was awarded the 39th spot on Dana Point’s Historic Resources Register. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive where the remnants of a large chunk of land is visible at the base of the cliff. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive. Â (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Â )
Dana Point, CA – February 13: An aerial view of three large homes in Dana Point are in danger of falling into the ocean after a cliffside gave way over the weekend after recent heavy rains in Dana Point Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. The double A-frame mansion was awarded the 39th spot on Dana Point’s Historic Resources Register. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive where the remnants of a large chunk of land is visible at the base of the cliff. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive. Â (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Â )
Dana Point, CA – February 13: An aerial view of three large homes in Dana Point are in danger of falling into the ocean after a cliffside gave way over the weekend after recent heavy rains in Dana Point Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. The double A-frame mansion was awarded the 39th spot on Dana Point’s Historic Resources Register. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive where the remnants of a large chunk of land is visible at the base of the cliff. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive. Â (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Â )
Dana Point, CA – February 13: An aerial view of people inspecting damage from the deck of one of three large homes in Dana Point are in danger of falling into the ocean after a cliffside gave way over the weekend after recent heavy rains in Dana Point Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. Â The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive where the remnants of a large chunk of land is visible at the base of the cliff. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive. Â (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Â )
Dana Point, CA – February 13: An aerial view of a person hiking amid the landslide rubble where three large homes in Dana Point are in danger of falling into the ocean after a cliffside gave way over the weekend after recent heavy rains in Dana Point Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. Â The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive where the remnants of a large chunk of land is visible at the base of the cliff. The estate-style homes all sit along Scenic Drive. Â (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Â )
Last week, an atmospheric river caused flooding, landslides and damaging winds. As California saw last week, these weather conditions can lead to erosion and landslides. While inland areas experienced destructive mudslides, the coastal communities faced cliff erosion and landslides.
Residents of a condominium building in Isla Vista, California, were evacuated during the atmospheric river storm last week when the backyard of the property fell into the ocean.
Santa Barbara County Supervisor Laura Capps describes how a combination of recent atmospheric rivers and decades of erosion has worn away the land underneath homes in Isla Vista, California, and what the county plans to do to combat it. Feb. 9, 2024.
California faces a renewed flooding risk later this week as another round of atmospheric river storms is set to unload on the Golden State. The FOX Forecast Center is tracking another round of moisture to bring heavy rains and high winds to California this weekend and next week.Â
Once again, flooding will be a concern for much of California, especially for regions with already saturated soils, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. Â