The occupant of a cliffside home in California faces the reality that his backyard could fall off a cliff at any moment.
Alan Ashavi, 66, says he’s more nervous every day about his property, which earlier this month became a victim of the atmospheric rivers bearing down on California.
Last year, some of Ashavi’s neighbors in San Clemente watched their backyards collapse into the ocean as the land beneath them eroded.
Ashavi avoided the same fate last rainy season, but this year she was not so lucky.
Alan Ashavi, a homeowner in San Clemente, California, laments the storms that could ultimately cause his cliffside property to fall into the sea.
Earlier this month, an atmospheric river caused a landslide beneath his million-dollar property that left his pool on the brink of collapse.
An aerial view of a pool remaining on the edge of a hillside landslide triggered by heavy rain, which prompted the evacuation and closure of four ocean-view apartment buildings due to unstable conditions, on March 16, 2023 in San Clemente, California.
Aerial views showing aftermath of cliff collapse after extreme weather in Southern California threatened multimillion-dollar homes
Earlier this month, an atmospheric river caused a landslide beneath his million-dollar property that left his pool on the brink of collapse.
“You have to deal with it daily and you come here and check it every day or hourly sometimes,” Ashavi told Reuters, calling the ordeal “stressful.”
“I know this is an El Niño year when it comes to rain, so I’ve had the possibility of participating in the construction in mind,” he added.
For the past two months, storms have hit California with heavy rain and incredibly strong winds.
The weather system they were a part of was called Pineapple Express. Ultimately, it led Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency in eight counties, affecting more than 20 million residents.
Flash flood warnings were issued at various times for parts of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, where landslides have become an increasing danger over the past decade.
Luxury homes have been left on the brink of collapse as cliffside homeowners watch their neighbors lose their patios to the sea.
A professor at the University of California, Irvine says erosion could soon move inland significantly.
“We have these atmospheric rivers coming out of the oceans, rain falls here on these hills and then the hills start to erode as well,” said climate change professor Kathleen Treseder.
‘And so not only do we have this erosion right here due to the waves, but we also have erosion inland caused by the rains.
“We have many, many multimillion-dollar homes along this coast that will fall into the ocean,” he said.
A UC Irvine professor says erosion could soon move significantly inland.
San Clemente, California – Aerial views showing the aftermath of a cliff collapse after extreme weather in Southern California threatened multimillion-dollar homes earlier this month.
“We have many, many multimillion-dollar homes along this coast that will fall into the ocean,” said one UCI professor.
Landslides along the oceanfront cliffs in San Clemente have recently caused the closure of the city’s beach trails.
Stairs leading to the coastal path at Dije Court, El Portal and Lasuens Beach were added to the list of closed access points this month, due to continued instability in the area.
Engineers continue to evaluate and re-evaluate the structural integrity of coastal properties after each storm.
