Torrents falling from the sky are having a knock-on effect on the cliffs that support some of California’s most expensive real estate. Southern California received nearly 18 inches of rain in the first two months of the year, about 8 inches above normal so far, and more rain is expected this week.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in eight counties covering more than 20 million people, and flash flood warnings were issued in parts of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
In affluent coastal cities like San Clemente and Dana Point, homeowners watched every moment as their multimillion-dollar homes hung on cliffs above storm-induced landslides. Homeowner Alan Ashavi told Reuters he was checking his property every day after his swimming pool came close to collapse.
Funding to protect California property from the impacts of the climate crisis — stronger storms, higher sea levels and landslides — will ultimately come from the state. The cost of publicly funded disaster relief programs and state-subsidized insurance will be borne by everyone, including those not involved in landscaped luxury homes. Most Latino and black families in California do not own their own homes.
The Los Angeles Times estimates that $150 billion worth of California property could be affected by coastal flooding and erosion by 2100, meaning the state will likely protect that wealth by stabilizing insurance premiums and paying for disaster recovery costs .
Some cities are encouraging so-called “managed retreat” strategies—simply retreating from the sea in the face of changing coastlines and environments.
But in other areas, such as Pacifica, residents were forced to relocate facilities in unplanned ways in 2016, when more than a dozen clifftop homes had to be demolished because they were unsafe. Ultimately, the cost was $16 million, and the public was stuck with that price tag.
Insurance for homes in wildfire areas has become an issue. In 2023, seven of the 12 insurance groups operating in California, which together account for about 85% of the market, have stopped taking on new residential and commercial real estate due to wildfire risks. This leaves homeowners with the option of purchasing expensive equity plans directly from the state as a last resort. How much risk homeowners should take when living in hazardous locations remains controversial.
This isn’t just a problem in California; other states like Louisiana, Florida and Texas are also considering how to pay for climate-related disasters and insurance.
As the climate crisis accelerates, this situation may become ubiquitous, as Newsom noted in an interview with Politico: “The United States is about to become attractive in terms of climate impact.” Last fall, there was a legislative plan to A solution to the problem died behind closed doors.
Even at the federal level, funding is starting to tighten: Last fall, Joe Biden had to ask Congress for additional funding after disaster relief funds ran out of cash for disaster recovery.
An expert has predicted that 100 meters of sea cliffs will be destroyed in the future, putting many multi-million dollar homes at risk in the coming years.
“These atmospheric rivers from the ocean, they put rain on these hills, and then the hills start to erode as well,” Kathleen Treseder, a professor of climate change at the University of California, Irvine, told Reuters.
“So not only do we have erosion here from the waves, but we also have inland erosion from the rainfall.”
