Malibu city officials issued an evacuation order affecting dozens of homes in some of the most sought-after real estate in Southern California.
“The Director of Emergency Services of the City of Malibu has declared the existence of a local emergency following a large sinkhole forming near 31630 Sea Level Drive,” an announcement said.
“An evacuation order is in effect for all affected properties. Sheriff Deputies have notified residents in person, and a digital alert has been issued by the City.”
🇺🇸 Nicolas Cage woke up to find Malibu trying to steal his house.
A sinkhole started opening outside his home; Neighbors thought, eh, probably fixable.
Then all hell broke loose.
By yesterday, the driveway had basically rage-quit and collapsed into a 30-by-30-foot crater.… pic.twitter.com/S67f7E8CXQ
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 9, 2026
South of Los Angeles, truckloads of boulders had been placed along a stretch of beach in Dana Point to protect properties in a spot where seven homes have already been declared uninhabitable, with one partially collapsing into the sea.
Richard Thompson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told AFP on Tuesday that coastal waters were being roiled by the remnants of Hurricane Marie.
“There were some pretty significant surf and swells across the area in the last several days,” he said.
“At the height of the surf and swell, we had some very significant wave heights of 10 up to 15 feet [3.0-4.5 metres] in some spots, with significant beach erosion.”
This week Hurricane Lowell lashed Hawaii with damaging winds, heavy rainfall and powerful floods, blacking out power across most of one island.
A near-record-strength El Nino climate episode is warming the waters of the Pacific Ocean and promoting the formation of powerful storms.
While the warming phase is a natural phenomenon, scientists believe the human-caused heating of the climate could make its effects much larger.
– AFP