Sandbags were starting to be filled and stacked up along Long Beach’s Peninsula on Thursday, Oct. 8, as residents are once again bracing for another storm and high tides this weekend.
Out of an abundance of caution, city officials are urging residents not only in the Peninsula area but also citywide to begin preparing for potential flooding because of moderate showers and hazardous beach conditions that are expected through early next week, beginning as early as Saturday night, Oct. 10, because of Hurricane Rachel.
The National Weather Service has issued a Coastal Flood Advisory that is in effect through 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9, according to a city press release. A southerly swell generated by Hurricane Rachel began building Wednesday, with the peak lasting Thursday into Friday, with potential surf of 3 to 6 feet along south-facing beaches and dangerous rip currents.
Minor to moderate coastal flooding was likely during morning and evening high tides – ranging from 6.5 to 7 feet – from Wednesday to Friday, city officials said. Potential showers and high winds may also impact Long Beach beginning Saturday and could last through Tuesday.
The most susceptible areas, city officials say, include the Peninsula, where shallow flooding, beach erosion and localized damage may occur. Additional northwest-to-southwest swells into the weekend may prolong elevated surf, rip current hazards and coastal flooding, with morning high tides nearing 7 feet.
Long Beach’s Peninsula community is still dealing with the impacts of Hurricane Marie, which caused damage to the area during Labor Day weekend. Several homes had to be evacuated during the extreme weather, as waves crashed and damaged the historic boardwalk and bulkhead.
While city officials shared their efforts ahead of Hurricane Marie – such as building sand berms and sand back-passing onto the Peninsula – residents also brought up their concerns about how the city handled the emergency during a community meeting on Sept. 28.
The city activated its sandbag distribution sites on Thursday and will they will remain open through Tuesday, Oct. 13. Empty sandbags remain available for Long Beach residents at all Long Beach Fire Department neighborhood fire stations, including Station 7, 2295 Elm St.; Station 12, 1199 E. Artesia Blvd.; Station 13, 2475 Adriatic Ave.; and Station 14, 5200 E. Eliot St.
The Claremont Beach Parking Lot site, 5400 E. Ocean Blvd., opened Sunday and will remain open through Tuesday. On Thursday, the Long Beach Fire Department’s Marine Safety Division was helping fill sandbags and putting them into residents’ cars.
In all, residents had picked up 6,300 sandbags ahead of Hurricane Rachel, as of Thursday afternoon, the city said.
Sand and bags are available only to Long Beach residents, according to a press release. Residents are required to bring their IDs and can pick up a maximum of 10 bags. Residents are advised to bring their own shovel and/or tools when collecting sand.
Crews work to shore up the oceanfront bulkhead along the Long Beach Peninsula on Thursday, October 8, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Waves crash into the oceanfront bulkhead along the Long Beach Peninsula on Thursday, October 8, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Marine Bureau Manager Todd Leland, left, assesses the damage to the oceanfront bulkhead along the Long Beach Peninsula on Thursday, October 8, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Long Beach junior lifeguards prepare sandbags for local residents and business owners on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Belmont Shore. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
With coastal areas subjected to high surf and possible flooding, area residents stock up on sandbags on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
A Long Beach junior lifeguard helps a local resident load sandbags into his vehicle on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
A container is filled with sand at a fire department sandbag distribution point on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach junior lifeguards prepare sandbags for local residents and business owners on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
With coastal areas subjected to high surf and possible flooding, a man fills his truck with sandbags on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach junior lifeguards help a resident load sandbags into his vehicle on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
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Crews work to shore up the oceanfront bulkhead along the Long Beach Peninsula on Thursday, October 8, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
On Thursday afternoon, there was a police presence at the entrance of the Peninsula, and officers were only letting in residents – a request made by residents to keep traffic down in case of potential evacuation orders during weather events. Public Works, Marine Bureau and Clean Team vehicles and staff could be seen preparing emergency generators and conducting sand back-passing.
Residents, meanwhile, continue worrying. One resident along 68th Place said he didn’t think the city has been preparing enough for what is to come, with anticipated Super El Niño conditions.
To expand preparedness measures and exercise emergency powers to respond to the developing El Niño weather pattern and winter storm season, however, Long Beach declared a local emergency on Sept. 22. The City Council unanimously approved continuing the local emergency this week.
“This is an emergency that’s going to help us citywide,” City Manager Tom Modica said on Tuesday. “We’re obviously seeing coastal impacts right now. We haven’t really seen the rain yet, but we know that’s coming. This will help us clean our storm drains. This will help us when trees are coming down, when there’s flooding in neighborhoods.
“Storm drains are designed for a certain amount of water, and we’re expecting it to be higher than what they’re designed for,” Modica added. “This will help us mobilize crews, respond where we need to, really protect life and safety first, and then property damage comes after.”
As the representative for the Peninsula area, Councilmember Kristina Duggan said she appreciated how seriously city leadership has been preparing for what may happen this winter. But she also emphasized that it did not only affect that community or other low-lying areas but also the entire city. Long Beach, she added, should also continue advocating for more resources to address these coastal concerns.
“Other coastal communities have federal partnerships because government infrastructure changed the natural movement of sand,” Duggan said. “Long Beach has experienced many of those same changes, but we have historically paid for these projects ourselves. When these agreements were made in the ’60s, Long Beach tidelands were in a far different financial position than we are right now. We were making hundreds of millions of dollars from oil revenue in today’s dollars back then.
“This is the whole reason why I started saying we need more of a local share of oil revenue because our local responsibilities are more than other coastal cities,” she added. “This is just one of the many agreements in place that shortchange Long Beach. This is an open invitation to anyone wanting to sit down with my office and talk about the tidelands and the inequitable deals in place because we need all the help we can get here in Long Beach.”