Heavy surf, red-tagged homes, a battered boardwalk: Long Beach confronts costly climate reality

Key Points:

• A series of three storms since early September has caused significant and cumulative damage to the historic Long Beach boardwalk, particularly between 64th and 65th Place on Seaside Walk, leading to further collapse during recent heavy surf.
• City officials are actively responding by reinforcing the boardwalk with sandbags and lumber, rebuilding protective berms, and monitoring coastal homes, with nine buildings red-tagged as unsafe and one yellow-tagged due to storm damage.
• Long Beach has developed a seven-point plan focusing on immediate repairs, beach nourishment, additional protective measures, and long-term solutions, including the upcoming Alamitos Bay Entrance Channel Dredging Project to widen the beach by about 200 feet.
• Permanent repairs to the boardwalk and bulkhead are estimated to cost between $1.5 million and $3.6 million, funded by the city’s Tidelands Emergency Reserves, with completion targeted by the end of the year amid concerns about further storms due to El Niño.
• Mayor Rex Richardson emphasized the need for substantial investment in climate-resilient coastal infrastructure to preserve the historic boardwalk and address the increasing frequency and intensity of storms impacting the region.