Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Rancho Palos Verdes on September 3rd, as the land movement in the area has intensified, posing a continuous threat to the residents of the community. Prior to this announcement, residents in the area had already received evacuation warnings and power outage notifications.
The declaration of a state of emergency allows for the mobilization of state resources to assist this coastal city in Southern California and mandates residents to follow the instructions of emergency officials.
Just hours after Newsom’s announcement, members of the RPV City Council voted in a special meeting to expand the local state of emergency to cover more homes that are continuing to be threatened by land movement. The city’s power provider had previously disconnected electricity for hundreds of residents.
Southern California Edison cut off power to more than 100 homes in the city on Monday, September 2nd, due to the threat of land movement to the area’s power equipment. Earlier, 140 homes in the Portuguese Bend community had their power shut off and received evacuation warnings.
According to Southern California Edison, the power outages help reduce the risk of fires, minimizing public utility equipment sparking wildfires and other dangers such as downed power lines or equipment damage.
Portuguese Bend is built on an ancient but still active landslide. Geologists recently discovered that the underground land movement is deeper than initially anticipated, which they say changes everything.
Since 2017, city geologists have been developing plans to address the landslide-prone area. Intense rainfall over the past year has accelerated ground movement. In 2022, the city saw rainfall levels 200% above average, making the ground even more slippery.
City workers and geologists have been conducting drilling on the ground to divert underground and surface water to alleviate ground movement, revealing the depth of the landslide to be further underground.
The ground in the Portuguese Bend area moves about three to four feet per month.
In early August, 135 homes in Portuguese Bend had their natural gas supply cut off due to ground movement. The city declared a local state of emergency on August 6th due to the gas shut off, seeking federal and state assistance.