Recent high tides worsen landslide activity in Rancho Palos Verdes

Land in the Portuguese Bend area of Rancho Palos Verdes is now moving more than an inch per week, city officials said in a statement Wednesday. That’s an increase from August, but it is still moving much less than it was last year at this time.

Officials said the increase in land movement is due to coastal erosion after tropical storm-fueled waves walloped the Southern California coastline in mid-October.

Why has RPV's landslide gotten worse?

The Portuguese Bend area in Rancho Palos Verdes once offered spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. Now, much of that land is riddled with chasms that run as much as 20 feet deep or span a dozen feet across.

For decades, land movement was minimal. But with above-average rainfall in recent years, that movement rapidly accelerated — up to 1 foot per week in some places. Land movement has since slowed, thanks in part to wells the city installed that suck water out of the ground. But damage to the area remains, and the underlying issue will likely never be stopped.

What happens now?

Rancho Palos Verdes is preparing for a very wet winter as a super El Niño is expected to drench Southern California in the coming weeks.

The city reported that the winterization measures, which include filling large fissures, “fared well” during recent rainfall. For instance, pump trucks were not needed on Palos Verdes Drive South, the road through the landslide area that typically floods during rainy weather.