City crews reinforced protective sand berms along the shoreline. Photo: City of Newport Beach // Facebook
Newport Beach was rocked by powerful swells over the weekend. As a result of Southern Hemisphere swells and Tropical Storm Rachel, the Southern California city saw widespread flooding. In response, city officials shored up the coastline with sand berms and closed multiple parts of the shoreline, including famed swell magnet, the Wedge.
“With rain, significant high surf and elevated tides impacting Newport Beach, our lifeguards are urging everyone to stay out of the ocean,” wrote the city of Newport in a Facebook post on Sunday. “Newport Pier, Balboa Pier and the Wedge (rock jetty to M Street) remain temporarily CLOSED for public safety. Dangerous surf and strong currents pose serious risks, even for experienced swimmers. Please stay off protective sand berms, keep clear of heavy machinery and active work areas and respect all posted closures. Our crews continue working to protect the community. Please give them the space to do so safely.”
At the same time, city crew and contractors got to work reinforcing protective sand berms along the shoreline. In addition, City landscape contractors and staff from Municipal Operations, Recreation, Code Enforcement and the Harbor Department filled and distributed sandbags to residents.
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One of those residents was Southern California surf photographer James Ferrell, who documented the destruction in an Instagram post on Friday. “The Wedge is underwater, all these houses are getting flooded. The waves are so big from this swell and from the high tide, that it’s gone,” he said, amidst clips of flooded homes, waves breaching sand berms, and of course surfers taking advantage of the high surf. “It’s crazy to see that this beach that I’ve been at forever is just going to waste. The city is going to have to step in and do something.”
Nearby Laguna Beach also saw massive waves. Frequent surf and skimboarding videographer BEEFS TV posted a series of videos documenting the pounding surf, which resulted in flooded parking lots strewn with detritus.
However, while the worst seems to have passed, Newport is not quite out of the woods yet. As congressman Dave Min announced in another Facebook post, crews continue to work on reinforcing the berms and draining flooded areas. A flood advisory still remains in effect and elevated tides continue to pose risks along our coastline.
