California ramps up El Niño response amid mounting coastal damage
On 17 October, officials in Southern California announced intensified preparations for the El Niño after surf damage from Tropical Storm Rachel, and scientists warned the system could become one of the strongest on record. Earlier in the week, record king tides and storm surges linked to the active El Niño flooded and eroded the Long Beach shoreline, destroying more than a dozen homes and damaging the Pacific Coast Highway. Scientists at a Scripps Institution conference said the El Niño is shaping up as one of the strongest on record, with higher ocean temperatures and heightened flood risk.
A record Pacific hurricane season generated unprecedented cyclone energy, causing extensive coastal damage across Southern California. The NOAA Climate Prediction Center rated the current El Niño as “very strong” with an 83 % chance of historic intensity, forecasting above-normal precipitation and increased flood risk statewide. Meteorologists also warned that the combination of the storm’s Kelvin wave and El Niño-driven tides could produce coastal flooding and light rain in the region.
