Excerpt:
Every day, Rancho Palos Verdes inches closer to destruction. The beleaguered Southern California city, which is southwest of downtown Los Angeles and hugs the waterline between Redondo Beach and San Pedro, is quite literally sliding into the ocean, sometimes at a rate of 4 inches per week. That’s more than 1 foot per month — or about 17 feet per year. It’s devastatingly simple math for homeowners and overburdened city workers just trying to keep roads and houses connected to the land.
Recently, though, the rate of failure has slowed somewhat, giving new hope to those on the edge. And it’s thanks to an unlikely ally: drought.
At a May 6 city council meeting, Rancho Palos Verdes geologist Mike Phipps explained that the land movement across much of the peninsula has stabilized (or at least decelerated) recently. “Mr. Phipps believes this is largely due to significantly below-average rainfall through April,” according to a news update on the meeting from the city’s website, which added that “winterization measures” last fall and “ongoing dewatering efforts” have also contributed to the slowdown. Since the start of the rainy season back in October, the region has received only 46% of its average seasonal rainfall total this year.
Of course, trading landslides for drought conditions is far from ideal for Rancho Palos Verdes, but homeowners there are mostly concerned about tackling one problem at a time. A year ago, rainfall totals were through the roof, soaking the land so thoroughly that it began to slide off into the sea. Houses detached from their foundations — and from municipal gas and power lines — and streets buckled with each shift. The town’s famous Wayfarers Chapel, a glassy, tree-lined site with views out to the Pacific Ocean, closed entirely in February due to “accelerated land movement,” leaving 175 weddings and celebrations without a venue.
Similar losses have happened before. Nearly 100 years ago, Point Fermin in San Pedro collapsed toward the sea, sending homes tumbling down the cliffside; today, the off-limits area is known as Sunken City…
