By admin 
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) — Long Beach officials on Saturday announced the city’s latest preparations for Tropical Storm Rachel and efforts to address coastal flooding and tidal surges, particularly along the Peninsula.
The afternoon news conference came one day after waves pounded a portion of the Long Beach waterfront, damaging a boardwalk and homes in an area already battered by coastal erosion, with city officials reporting five damaged structures and warning that the worst conditions are still ahead.
“It is not normal that we see this type of activity,” Mayor Rex Richardson said. “Just in this season, this marks the third hurricane in just six weeks. We saw Hurricane Marie over Labor Day, which was followed soon by Hurricane Polo, and now Rachel is bringing with it more high tides, more surf, erosion that continues to cause damage to properties and damage along our coastline.”
The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood warning Friday afternoon for Los Angeles County beaches through 3 p.m. Sunday, warning that damaging ocean flooding is likely along vulnerable south-facing beaches, particularly in Long Beach and Malibu.
Forecasters also issued a high surf advisory from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, with waves of 4 to 7 feet expected, along with strong rip currents and significant beach erosion.
Eight structures in the city have been red-tagged, and one other structure has been yellow-tagged.
A red tag indicates that a structure is unsafe for entry, while a yellow tag allows a property owner to enter temporarily to retrieve belongings but prohibits occupancy until the building is deemed structurally safe, Richardson said.
The latest damage follows an earlier round of high surf that battered homes along the 6400 and 6500 blocks of Seaside Walk, prompting city and fire inspectors to evaluate the structures. An evacuation order has since been issued for those blocks, the mayor said, adding: “We’ll continue to evaluate that in case that needs to expand.”
Some sand berms built after the previous round of high surf were washed away in spots. Damage was visible to the boardwalk, with debris floating offshore as waves washed around and beneath waterfront homes.
City officials said 7,600 sandbags had been distributed to residents preparing for the latest storm, bringing the total distributed during three recent storms to approximately 15,000.
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Sand and sandbag distribution sites have also been activated at fire stations throughout Long Beach as officials prepare for additional impacts from Tropical Storm Rachel.
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“We’ve closed off vehicular access to the Peninsula for residents only,” Richardson said. “We’re encouraging everyone else to avoid the Peninsula all weekend, so that our city crews can have access and best perform this critical work.”
The weather service warned that coastal flooding could damage beach roads and structures, particularly around morning high tides, while significant erosion is expected along beaches.
High tides of 7.3 to 7.6 feet are expected each morning, with forecasters warning that conditions could deteriorate Sunday as swells from multiple directions combine with strong winds, rain and elevated ocean water levels associated with Tropical Storm Rachel.
Forecasters said the severity of Sunday’s coastal flooding remains uncertain, with the possibility of substantially greater damage if multiple weather and ocean conditions peak simultaneously.
The coastal flood warning could be extended beyond Sunday or replaced by a coastal flood advisory through Tuesday, according to the weather service.
Winds over coastal waters are expected to increase Saturday and Sunday, potentially reaching 20 to 30 knots and generating steep, choppy seas hazardous to small vessels.
The weather service urged residents and visitors to stay off beaches, coastal walkways and vulnerable roads and structures, and warned motorists not to drive around barricades or through floodwaters of unknown depth.
Rain is expected to spread across the region Saturday night into Sunday morning, with showers potentially continuing through Tuesday night.
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City News Service contributed to this report.