In a Southern California city, about 140 homes remain without power due to worsening landslides that have triggered evacuation warnings and gas service shutoff. The power was cut by Southern California Edison in Rancho Palos Verdes out of safety concerns, as the movement of land in the Portuguese Bend community has created a dangerous situation. City officials have opened an emergency assistance center to help affected residents with charging phones and finding alternative housing.
The increase in heavy rains over the past two years has exacerbated the problem along California’s coast, with water saturating the hillsides and intensifying the rates of rainfall due to climate change. The city’s popular Wayfarers Chapel has been temporarily closed since February due to accelerated land movement. Geologists say the land has been shifting since the 1950s, but it is now moving at a rate of more than a foot a week in some areas, threatening certain neighborhoods.
Residents expressed frustration at the short warning given before the power was shut off, forcing them to make alternative living arrangements or source equipment to cope with the lack of utilities. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn called on the state to provide support, as the emergency situation in Rancho Palos Verdes has no playbook and is too large for one city to handle alone. The city is conducting voluntary inspections of homes to assess which ones may be uninhabitable, and officials are working to restore gas service once the land movement becomes more manageable.
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