Rachel’s remnants collapse Long Beach homes as flood rescues spread inland

Rachel’s remnants have turned a coastal flood threat into displacement and a repair problem that will outlast the rain. Long Beach officials reported 13 beachfront residences too dangerous to enter. Inland, ABC News reported two people rescued from a flooded San Bernardino storm drain and vehicle flooding that prompted rescues in Las Vegas. The storm’s change to post-tropical status has not made either hazard harmless.⁠9⁠1

Our October 11 outlook concerned the possibility of heavy surf and flooding in Southern California. The subsequent reporting documents damage and rescues, not merely the chance of them. But this is not a final accounting: no reconciled death or injury total, comprehensive rescue count or complete inventory of damaged homes has been established. The absence of a casualty tally is not evidence that nobody was hurt.

On Long Beach’s Peninsula, the mandatory evacuation area included the 6400 and 6500 blocks of Seaside Walk. Reporting on the morning of October 11 said homes on two blocks remained under evacuation orders after waves overtopped the bulkhead. No later notice allowing residents back has been established. Red tags mean the affected residences were judged too dangerous to enter, not simply inconveniently wet.⁠9⁠3

The damage began before Sunday. ABC7 was already reporting red-tagged homes, including one at risk of falling into the ocean, in an article bearing an October 10 date, although its publication metadata gave October 9. That discrepancy leaves the initial damage and evacuation times unsettled. What is clear is that Sunday’s damage was part of a continuing emergency.⁠10

The Golden Coast Journal reported that Sunday morning’s tide was lower than forecast and below Saturday’s. Yet waves continued flooding and damaging homes after the bulkhead failed. A lower tide could not undo a broken coastal defense, stabilize an unsafe house or restore a collapsed walkway.⁠3⁠7

Even the red-tag count needs its units kept intact. KTLA attributed 13 unsafe beachfront residences to Long Beach officials; The Southbound 105 used eight buildings in its headline. The second account’s timing and counting basis are unclear. Buildings and residences are not necessarily the same measure, and these figures cannot responsibly be presented as proof that five more homes became unsafe. Neither supplies a complete city inspection inventory.⁠9⁠39

Newport Beach faced its own waterfront shutdown. The city declared a local emergency Friday, October 9, after flooding on the Balboa Peninsula and urged residents to protect their homes and property. By October 11, ABC News reported that all Newport Beach beaches and piers were closed. The exact start, uninterrupted duration and reopening time of that closure have not been established.⁠40⁠35⁠5

ABC’s October 12 account also reported protective barriers at least 10 feet tall being erected in Newport Beach. That height has not been independently confirmed, and the exact sites and construction material remain unknown. Ten feet describes the reported barriers—not measured waves, storm surge or buildings. Heavy surf and coastal flooding are established; a precise numerical account of the coastal water is not.⁠1

In San Bernardino, flooding trapped two people inside a storm drain, and both were brought out, according to ABC News. The account was published October 12, but that publication date does not establish when the rescue occurred. No primary incident record has established the exact drain, responding agency, incident time or the rescued people’s condition. ABC also reported severe Las Vegas flooding that stalled cars and prompted rescues, without a verified citywide rescue total.⁠1

A more precisely located rescue occurred near Domenigoni Parkway and Leon Road in Winchester at about 8:50 a.m. Sunday, October 11. MyNewsLA reported that Riverside County Fire personnel escorted one occupant of a vehicle trapped on a flooded road to higher ground as the water rose. The account does not identify the occupant as a man or say the vehicle had been swept away.⁠27

MyNewsLA reported two motorists rescued in Riverside County that Sunday, including the Winchester occupant, but the available details describe only that incident. Separately, ABC reported a man pulled from floodwater after his car was swept away and rendered the location as “Paris.” That location remains unverified. Perris, California, is a possible spelling to investigate, not an established correction; there is no basis for placing the rescue in Paris, France. These reports may overlap and cannot be added into a larger total.⁠27⁠1

Rainfall reports indicate substantial water inland, but their measurement windows are incomplete. The Californian reported totals above three inches in San Diego County’s mountains as rain fell Saturday into early Sunday. The Golden Coast Journal reported up to 5.16 inches on Palomar Mountain. Neither supplies the station and full accumulation period needed to call the figure a verified daily or whole-storm total. Palomar lies within the broader mountain area, so the figures overlap rather than add together. Several water rescues were also reported in San Diego County before dawn Sunday, without an exact count.⁠6⁠8⁠19

A National Weather Service San Diego local statement issued at 3:18 a.m. PDT October 11 said Rachel’s remnants continued bringing heavy rain and gusty winds to parts of Baja California and the southwestern United States. It listed no current watches or warnings under its own headings and said all had been canceled. That cancellation did not cancel every separately issued flood or coastal-hazard product.⁠21

The later Las Vegas forecast discussion, issued at 4:10 p.m. PDT October 11, retained elevated flash-flood risk through Sunday night for Clark and Lincoln counties in Nevada and Mohave County in Arizona. It forecast scattered showers through Monday, October 12, with gusty south winds tapering. Those are dated forecast periods, not proof of additional flooding or a current warning for every part of Nevada and Arizona.⁠20

ABC described Rachel’s remnants interacting with another incoming weather system and moving north toward parts of Utah, Arizona and Nevada. The second system’s identity and precise interaction have not been established, nor has a Utah-specific warning with a clear valid period. No supplied October 12 bulletin establishes how the overnight and Monday outlook subsequently changed.⁠1

ABC News: “Millions bracing for heavy rain and flash flooding.”⁠1 Los Angeles Times: Long Beach’s damaged homes and boardwalk.⁠2 The Golden Coast Journal: Peninsula evacuations and Sunday’s tide.⁠3 Wave Briefing: coastal impacts and rescues.⁠4 ABC News: Newport Beach closures.⁠5

The Californian: Southern California rainfall and flooding.⁠6 Long Beach Post: Peninsula damage and repairs.⁠7 The Golden Coast Journal: rainfall, closures and coastal warnings.⁠8 KTLA: unsafe Long Beach residences.⁠9 ABC7: red-tagged Peninsula homes.⁠10 LAist: residents’ efforts to save homes.⁠11

NWS Las Vegas weather briefing.⁠12 ABC News: post-tropical Rachel in the Southwest.⁠13 Rolling Out: Newport Beach flooding and inland alerts.⁠14 The Weather Channel: regional hazards.⁠15 KESQ: flooded roads.⁠16 Fox Weather: western flooding, rain and winds.⁠17 GPB: Rachel’s downgrade.⁠18 ArcaMax: San Diego County rain and rescues.⁠19

NWS Las Vegas forecast discussion.⁠20 NWS San Diego local statement.⁠21 NWS Hurricane Local Statement page.⁠22 NHC post-tropical Rachel forecast discussion.⁠23 NBC 7 San Diego: hazards after tropical-watch cancellation.⁠24 Las Vegas Sun: two storms’ regional risks.⁠25 NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard office page.⁠26

MyNewsLA: Riverside County motorists rescued.⁠27 Capital Runtime: coastal impacts and rescues.⁠28 CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department page.⁠29 The Golden Coast Journal: state response teams.⁠30 Press Enterprise: Riverside and La Paz flood warning.⁠31 MyNewsLA: Riverside County rain outlook.⁠32 Press Enterprise: Riverside County flood advisory.⁠33

Los Angeles Times: Long Beach evacuations and Newport Beach closures.⁠34 Los Angeles Times: coastal flooding preparations.⁠35 ABC7: Newport Beach emergency.⁠36 Long Beach Post: evacuations and rebuilding plans.⁠37 LAist: Peninsula damage.⁠38 The Southbound 105: eight-building headline.⁠39 Newport Beach News: local emergency declaration.⁠40 Los Angeles Times: Rachel, a Kelvin wave and high tides.⁠41