Excerpt:
Residents in scenic communities along the coast of Southern California have known for years that the Palos Verdes Peninsula is prone to landslides, but new research from NASA reveals a startling speed at which the Los Angeles subregion is shifting into the sea. …
According to data captured by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory using airborne radar, a portion of the Palos Verdes Peninsula is slipping towards the Pacific Ocean as much as 4 inches per week.
The peninsula, located in southwest Los Angeles County, is home to a cluster of coastal cities including Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates and San Pedro — where in 1929 a slide in the area forced the abandonment of about 14 homes. It’s now the site of the “Sunken City” that draws oglers to a graffiti-covered concrete pile along the shore.
Although the coastal communities have known for decades that parts of the landscape is compromised, the Palos Verdes Peninsula underwent accelerated activity following Hurricane Hilary’s record-breaking rainfall totals in 2023. Last year, in response to increased slide activity, the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes closed while the city council voted unanimously to prohibit bicyclists and motorcyclists from using an inshore roadway after it buckled from the shifting ground. Some homeowners were offered a buyout for property that was “damaged or threatened by land movement…”
