Driveway collapses in pounding surf at beachfront Malibu home

A driveway in front of a vacant seaside Malibu home collapsed Tuesday morning after steady rainfall and high surf on the Los Angeles County coast. Utility crews and department of building and safety personnel responded to the location on a private road in the 31000 block of Sea Level Drive after the collapse damaged a gas main. Video from NewsChopper4 showed a large hole with a portable toilet inside in front of the residence, which was damaged by coastal erosion. No injuries were reported, but five homes were red-tagged and deemed uninhabitable. “The City is actively monitoring and responding to coastal erosion issues in areas including Pacific Coast Highway in the Palisades Fire burn area and at Westward Beach due to strong waves and high tides, in close collaboration with partner agencies,” the City of Malibu said in a statement. The City is preparing for potential strong storms, strong waves, heavy rain, mudslides, and coastal erosion that are possible along the entire Southern California coast due to the forecast strong El Niño conditions.” Hours of rainfall Sunday into Monday and continued high surf were among the effects of Tropical Storm Marie hundreds of miles off the California coast. The swell from the storm and an elevated evening high tide means waves are reaching farther inland. “We do know that coastal erosion is happening right now,” said Matt Myerhoff, a city of Malibu spokesperson. “It’s happening all over the Southern California coast. High waves, storm surge, high tides, all of those things are happening and have been for the last several weeks.” About 20 homes along the Long Beach Boardwalk were evacuated as high surf conditions continued early this week. Homeowners were scrambling to place sandbags, board up windows and take other precautions as high surf threatened to flood residences along the shorelines in Los Angeles and Orange counties. A high surf advisory and coastal flood advisory will be in effect until 11 p.m. Tuesday for portions of the Los Angeles County and Orange County coasts. Large breaking waves of 6 to 10 feet for south and southwestern-facing beaches and 4 to 7 feet for west-facing beaches are expected, with strong and dangerous rip and longshore currents. High tides will also increase through early in the week and were expected to exceed 7 feet.