Pacific Coast Highway is set to close between Warner Avenue and Anderson Street at 8 a.m. today, Oct. 27, as the string of high tides peaks around 9:45 a.m.
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The city of Huntington Beach announced the closure Monday after ocean water flooded the section and forced the northbound lanes to be taken offline. Today’s announced closure is until noon.
“The closure will also allow city personnel, public safety agencies, and Caltrans to respond safely to conditions and complete necessary work,” city officials said.
It’s like trying to figure out a puzzle.
Where are the vulnerable, low-lying areas where water might spill over from the harbors and into the streets? How can crews keep the high tides from damaging homes, cars and roadways when the ocean levels rise?
Following flooding that overtook some streets Monday morning in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Long Beach, neighbors and city workers had to work against the clock the last 24 hours to shore up barriers to try and avoid a repeat soaking by mid-morning today, Oct. 27, when tides are expected to be about 3 inches higher than the previous day.
An all-time record was measured in San Pedro on Monday at 8.02 feet in the morning, breaking the previous record of 7.93 feet set Jan. 10, 2005.
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“Every inch makes a difference, in terms of high tide,” Newport Beach Utilities Director Mark Vukojevic said Monday afternoon as some streets, businesses and homes continued to dry out. “Now, we’re working on a few more puzzle pieces where we have low-lying areas.”
The astronomical, predicted tides are expected to be 6.6 feet just before 10 a.m. today, the highest expected this week. But the water levels have been measuring about 20 inches, nearly 2 feet, higher than expected, pushing water over seawalls and into streets.
“That’s what’s causing overtopping and flooding risk. We call it the overage. It’s much higher than originally predicted,” Vukojevic said. “In years past, we’ve seen tides come in about a foot higher than predicted. This is very abnormal.”
The string of high tides this week should have been “a big, nothing burger of an event.” But whatever is happening to raise water levels has been requiring all hands on deck, he said.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates as the morning high tide comes in.
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