{"id":404553,"date":"2026-07-19T18:11:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T18:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/404553\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T18:11:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T18:11:12","slug":"dana-point-homeowners-stunning-10m-mansion-is-hanging-off-a-cliff-now-hes-bracing-for-a-super-el-nino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/404553\/","title":{"rendered":"Dana Point homeowner’s stunning $10M mansion is hanging off a cliff. Now he’s bracing for a super El Ni\u00f1o"},"content":{"rendered":"

A multimillionaire homeowner in Southern California\u2019s Orange County is watching helplessly as his cliffside mansion<\/a> slowly slides off a cliff \u2014 with a \u201csuper El Ni\u00f1o\u201d expected to hit later this year.<\/p>\n

Raymond Nooten, an 82-year-old ophthalmologist, has lived in a dream $10 million property on Dana Point for over 30 years.<\/p>\n

His house, which he has expanded toward the bluff over the years, is widely believed to have the best views of the Pacific Ocean in the entire region.<\/p>\n

The cliffside mansions in Dana Point will face their ultimate test this winter as experts warn of a super El Nino. CA Post<\/p>\n

But now he braces every time a storm rolls in<\/a>, with the sprawling home dangling dangerously close to a 70ft drop on to train tracks and then the beach below.<\/p>\n

It comes as thousands of Californians up and down the coast are battling to save their properties from coastal erosion and landslides that leave them perilously close to losing their nest eggs.<\/p>\n

Experts warn a huge El Ni\u00f1o expected<\/a> to hit the Golden State later this year is going to wreak havoc, with cliffs, bluffs and beaches wiped out.<\/p>\n

Raymon Nooten, 82, bought his Orange County cliffside mansion in 1996. Pedro Colo for CA Post<\/p>\n

Nooten told The California Post: \u201cYou\u2019re stepping on 70 pylons that go 70 feet all the way down to the bedrock for support \u2014 keep up the pool, keep up the house and keep up the basement.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy architect told me you wouldn\u2019t be able to build a house like this anymore,\u201d he continued. While the ocean views are breathtaking, so is the sheer cliff that drops away just beyond the backyard.\u00a0\u201c<\/p>\n

On the prospect of El Ni\u00f1o hitting, he said: \u201cIt\u2019s going to do what its going to do, its going to rain when its going to rain.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Nooten said his property is \u201cfine\u201d for now, he acknowledged that some of his neighbors have had damage in the past from severe weather, including a pool that \u201ccaved in after a rainstorm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some other properties on the coast where they actually had to put tarps down so the water would run off the dirt because they have had more erosion,\u201d Nooten told The Post, adding that the worst damage has actually been directly beneath him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s happening below me, all these on beach row \u2014 they\u2019re very close to the ocean,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While the ocean views are breathtaking, so is the sheer cliff that drops away just beyond the backyard.\u00a0 CA Post<\/p>\n

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Nooten said he has has only moved back about a foot since he purchased it, and said he has no plans on leaving. Pedro Colo for CA Post<\/p>\n

Nooten said when he moved into the home in 1996, he could look out his window and see roughly 100 yards of sandy beach.<\/p>\n

Nearly three decades later, much of that sand has disappeared, leaving waves breaking almost directly below the bluff.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI used to get calls, and I still do, \u2018Do you want to sell, do you want to sell?\u2019 I can sell this just like that. I don\u2019t get as many now because I told everybody no, I\u2019m going to die in this house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Griggs, professor of earth sciences at University of California, Santa Cruz, said large waves and elevated sea levels are undercutting coastal bluffs, increasing the risk of landslides and cliff failures<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He told The Post: \u201cWe\u2019re talking about a super El Ni\u00f1o, and what we\u2019ve seen in the past \u2014 basically, two general coastal environments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s beach-level construction, and places like Balboa, Newport, they\u2019re on the sand basically, so elevating it a foot or so and then bringing in waves, that\u2019s one problem. The bluffs and cliffs are a totally different problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of Nooten\u2019s neighbors have had to put tarps down to help limit the erosion. CA Post<\/p>\n

The beachfront properties in Dana Point are losing more and more land each year. CA Post<\/p>\n

Griggs, who also does consulting for people looking to buy a home on the coast, said high water, high tide and big waves, coupled with heavy rainfall, weaken the bluffs and that\u2019s when cliff collapse occurs.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI ask myself when I write a report, would I live there? I\u2019m going to be more conservative because my whole career has been spent on coastal hazards and coastal engineering and I would say, no, I wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o is climate pattern caused by warmer-than-average Pacific Ocean temperatures<\/a> that bring heavy rainfall that can result in flooding and landslides.<\/p>\n

California has faced several extreme ones in the past, causing damaged homes, cliff erosion and landslides.<\/p>\n

Most recently, in 2015\u20132016 the weather phenomenon<\/a> resulted in the highest recorded beach erosion in California history, with researchers warning if the pattern continues the costal region will become \u201cincreasingly vulnerable to coastal hazards.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year could be even worse. <\/p>\n

Nooten said he is not worried about El Ni\u00f1o, telling The Post his house is \u201cfine.\u201d Pedro Colo for CA Post<\/p>\n

Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s Climate Prediction Center (NOAA) are predicting a 1-in-3 chance of a super El Ni\u00f1o<\/a> in October, November and December.<\/p>\n

Griggs said disappearing beaches are only the beginning, warning the more than 25 million people living along Southern California\u2019s coast that increasingly severe storms will leave as the only viable long-term solution.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to start retreating. I\u2019ve seen a number of places that have failed or been taken down during these big winters. But nobody really wants to do that, nobody wants to deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On this year\u2019s El Ni\u00f1o, he added: \u201cIf the past is any indication and these signs we\u2019re seeing from satellite images, it\u2019s going to be a big event, and it\u2019s going to affect beaches and cliffs and bluffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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