{"id":15986,"date":"2026-06-18T14:32:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T14:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15986"},"modified":"2026-06-18T14:32:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T14:32:56","slug":"beach-loss-worries-heightened-as-big-waves-king-tides-batter-southern-california-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15986","title":{"rendered":"Beach loss worries heightened as big waves, king tides batter Southern California coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

The visuals from battered Southern California coastlines have been dramatic: massive waves fueled by a big swell and king tides overtopping sand berms, seawater spilling onto boardwalks and streets, sand chomped away causing severe erosion and shrinking beaches just ahead of summer.<\/p>

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Is it just nature, doing what nature does? Will sand naturally make its way back to eroded beaches, or is human intervention needed to safeguard the cherished coastline? These are questions coastal communities have been facing for the past several years, and the recent wave action has only turned up the volume.<\/p>\n

And with an El Ni\u00f1o on the horizon, you have to ask: Is the coast in for even more of a battering?<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event shows just how threatening a big storm event can be when there\u2019s a coincidence of threatening factors: the combination of high tides, big swell and this part of the season being when these beaches tend to be the most narrow,\u201d said Brett Sanders, professor of civil engineering at UC Irvine and an expert on the region\u2019s erosion challenges. \u201cThose factors led to severe impacts observed this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The National Weather Service has extended its current beach hazard warning into Friday night, with more strong surf expected through the week and possibly through the end of the month. And beyond the current forecast, the brewing El Ni\u00f1o could also spell trouble ahead for the coast.<\/p>\n

\u201cEl Ni\u00f1o tends to generate winter waves with more wave energy,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cI think winter will be the time when we can expect more beach erosion and more coastal flooding.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some beaches remain wide and sand is plentiful, other beaches need human help \u2014 and when beach nourishment projects don\u2019t happen, impacts become apparent.<\/p>\n

Marc Moore and his neighbors along the Long Beach Peninsula have spent night after recent night watching the water spill over makeshift sand berms and wood panels put up to try to hold the ocean\u2019s force back.<\/p>

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\u201cFrom my perspective, this is no longer a future problem,\u201d he said. \u201cThe flooding is here now, and the city can\u2019t keep up. The crews and tractor operators are doing everything they can, but we\u2019re at the point where there isn\u2019t much beach left in many areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore worries those attempts are \u201cjust a bandage.\u201d<\/p>\n