DANA POINT, Calif. (KABC) — Coastal Orange County homeowners are using everything they can to protect their properties as high waves and unrelenting tides threaten homes already damaged by previous storms.
In an update released Monday morning, the City of Dana Point said there are now seven red-tagged homes, 13 yellow-tagged homes, two homes demolished and one scheduled for demolition in the Capistrano Bay district.
Some tagged homes in Dana Point are on the verge of collapsing into the sea. In one of the hardest-hit coastal neighborhoods, sidewalks were buckling and falling into the water Monday morning amid high tides caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel.
Homeowners are anxiously waiting to see if their properties will be destroyed by the ongoing swells and high tides.
The neighborhood was already reeling from another storm last month, which led officials to tag eight homes. Two houses were demolished.
SEE ALSO: At least 14 homes damaged by powerful waves on Capistrano Beach in Dana Point
Several homes along Beach Road on Capistrano Beach in Dana Point suffered significant damage after powerful waves hit the Orange County shoreline.
Capistrano Beach resident Lauri Torres fears her home could be next.
“I came home and on the 9th we arrived and our deck was starting to collapse,” Torres said. “And then I went to the neighbors two doors down and saw their whole deck was out. And I saw their deck the first day it was out, the second day their house went down. I mean, it happened that fast.”
Torres pointed out that the houses are built on sand, making them particularly vulnerable to erosion.
RELATED: More Capistrano Beach homes at risk following storm
Another home along Capistrano Beach was lost as it began to sink into the ocean after last week’s storm. Ten others were declared dangerous.
“Our houses are on the sand, and so our slab is just directly on the sand. What happens is the water erodes the sand so quickly and the house fell down overnight,” Torres said. “We couldn’t believe it! Because it was like, ‘This is reality now.'”
Many homes have historical and emotional value because they have been passed down from generation to generation, Torres said. A neighbor said his grandmother built a house in the neighborhood in the 1950s, but it is no longer available.
The storm’s impact extends beyond Dana Point. Laguna Beach activated its emergency operations center, while The Wedge and the city of Newport Beach piers remained closed.
Crews working around the clock constructed massive sand berms along the Newport Beach peninsula in an effort to prevent coastal flooding seen Friday.
Newport Beach sand berms are strong
Crews working around the clock constructed massive sand berms along the Newport Beach peninsula in an effort to prevent coastal flooding seen Friday.
Powerful surf and large waves crashed along the shoreline at high tide, but the water did not appear to go beyond the barriers Monday morning. The berms are as tall as the Balboa Pier in some areas.
City crews and contractors reinforced the shoreline with several excavators and bulldozers. Homes and businesses lie just beyond the beach, and the city is working to protect the community from further flooding.
People who have lived in the area for decades said they had never seen the beach like this. The high tide and storm surge also drew onlookers to the pier.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s amazing how quickly they did this, because I was here last week, and they didn’t have all of this. They hadn’t implemented this yet,” said Dustin Hopkins of Newport Beach.
Jim Redmond, a contractor visiting from Utah, said crews were moving a significant amount of sand.
“It’s a lot of work. I’m actually a contractor in Utah and I own excavators, and I was joking that we should bring them here and operate them here, but yeah, they do a lot of work. They move a lot of dirt,” Redmond said.
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