Weekly Real Estate News
Summary
Long Beach inspectors red-tagged eight buildings covering 13 addresses after destructive coastal surf damaged waterfront properties and shoreline defenses. Evacuation restrictions remain in effect while the city assesses structural safety.
Eight buildings covering 13 addresses on the Long Beach Peninsula have been declared unsafe to enter after heavy surf damaged waterfront homes and a protective bulkhead, city officials said Saturday. Another building was yellow-tagged, restricting occupancy as emergency crews reinforced the battered shoreline.
The inspections followed waves that breached the boardwalk and bulkhead along Seaside Walk on Friday. Long Beach ordered evacuations for homes in the 6400 and 6500 blocks, with the order scheduled to remain in place through noon Tuesday, October 13, subject to changing conditions. The building figures were announced by Mayor Rex Richardson and reported by the Long Beach Post and Los Angeles Times.
A red tag means inspectors consider a building unsafe to enter. It does not establish that the structure is a total loss. The 13 addresses are not necessarily 13 separate buildings or 13 destroyed homes. City Community Development spokesperson Craig Nakano told the Long Beach Post that inspections would continue twice daily and that tags could change after repairs and further inspection.
The city also issued evacuation warnings for additional blocks of Seaside Walk and streets south of Ocean Boulevard. Residents of Naples Island, Treasure Island and other parts of the Peninsula were advised to remain alert. An October 10 city news release warned that coastal flooding, high surf and weather associated with Tropical Storm Rachel could continue through Sunday.
The immediate risk to homeowners extends beyond water entering a building. Waves have stripped away sand supporting parts of the oceanfront, exposing foundations and damaging the protective structures between homes and the sea. The city deployed heavy equipment, sandbags and emergency repairs to stabilize the bulkhead before further high tides. According to CBS Los Angeles, officials said crews had placed or distributed more than 11,000 sandbags by Saturday, including heavy-duty bags to reinforce the damaged barrier.
The latest emergency follows earlier surf damage along the Peninsula, making the condition of the shoreline defenses an ongoing concern rather than a single-storm repair. City officials had already described longer-term coastal protection work in an October 8 update. The cost of rebuilding damaged private structures, the number of displaced households and any eventual insurance losses have not been established in the available public reports.
Owners and residents should rely on city evacuation notices and individual building inspection determinations before attempting to return. The next significant development will be a revised inspection count or a city decision changing access to the affected blocks. Until then, the eight red-tagged buildings represent a preliminary safety assessment, not a final tally of destroyed housing.
