The Rancho Palos Verdes landslide keeps accelerating. Can the city slow it down?

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, Sept. 24. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
The Palos Verdes Peninsula features pricey homes and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. But for decades, residents there have contended with a geological fact: The land they live on is sliding toward the sea.
What had long been treated as a slow-moving crisis has accelerated in recent months, as the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills face an active complex of landslides. Movement that had taken months or years is now taking weeks in the area called Portuguese Bend, damaging and destroying homes, collapsing roads and creating brand-new beaches.
The increasing landslides have left hundreds of homes in the city of Rancho Palos Verdes without electricity, gas or both as utility companies shut off service over concerns of ruptured pipes, fires and other hazards.
The city issued an evacuation warning for some neighborhoods, though many residents have decided to stay put, relying on generators to keep their lights on and appliances running. Some homes in the neighboring city of Rolling Hills are also without power.
“Amid the long list of challenges now accompanying daily life in their Portuguese Bend community, the predominant feelings among many residents are mounting anxiety and frustration — and even anger — over a lack of responsibility, answers or assistance from anyone in charge,” my colleagues Grace Toohey and Karen Garcia reported.
What is the city doing about this?
Officials are working to slow the landslide, which has accelerated due to increased groundwater made possible by two straight winters of heavy rain after years of drought. All that water is putting pressure on the deep landslide plane.
So the goal now is to relieve that pressure by drilling dewatering wells and pumping out the groundwater. Two wells have already been installed, according to city officials, pumping about 200 gallons of water per minute combined. Three more wells are expected to be drilled in the next week.
Will it work? The technology has helped slow other landslides, but it’s unclear what effect these wells will have.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Rancho Palos Verdes this month, which provides funding for the groundwater mitigation efforts and support for local authorities.
But some residents feel the state and local government aren’t doing enough.
“The governor, he hasn’t even seen” the damage, resident Steven Barker told Karen and Grace. “He should be here, this is way bigger than RPV can handle. Way bigger than the utility companies. …. We need Army Corps of Engineers.”
Portuguese Bend has been sliding for over half a century
The area is part of the larger ancient landslide zone that comprises the southern section of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It had been dormant for thousands of years but was reactivated in 1956 by human development.
The building continued with pricey hillside homes going up in what would become the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills. So did the landslides, which, before the recent crisis, were moving parts of the peninsula up to 8.5 inches each year.
“Landslides are common, but what makes Portuguese Bend’s extraordinary is how slowly but surely it persists — the Aesop tortoise of natural disasters,” Times reporter Jack Flemming wrote in March 2023. “Scientists and geologists have flocked to the area over the years to study the slide because of its rare combination of size and scope.”
But now, some areas are seeing more movement than that each week — up to 13 inches, Grace reported last month.
Some residents have vowed to stay put. But with the situation growing worse in recent weeks, it begs the question: Is their resolve fueled more by hope or hubris?
Jack unpacked that in a story last year exploring why Californians continue to live in places prone to disaster.
“I’ll be here until I can’t be here anymore,” one longtime resident told him shortly after several Rolling Hills homes collapsed into a canyon in July 2023. “I’ll slide away with the land.”
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Today’s great photo is from Sandy Marschman of San Diego: Globe Rock, which can be found along the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway.
Sandy writes: “We were visiting Yosemite National Park but took a day to explore the surrounding area. The mountains and forests in central California are special to us for their beauty and hiking trails.”
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporterDefne Karabatur, fellowAndrew Campa, Sunday reporterHunter Clauss, multiplatform editorChristian Orozco, assistant editorStephanie Chavez, deputy metro editorKarim Doumar, head of newsletters
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