Landslide evacuation warnings for Southern California neighborhood

Power and gas have been shut off to a California neighborhood under an evacuation warning due to an ongoing landslide in Rancho Palo Verdes.

ABC News Digital is your daily source of breaking national and world news, exclusive interviews and 24/7 live streaming coverage.

ABC News is the home to the #1 evening newscast “World News Tonight” with David Muir, “Good Morning America,” “20/20,” “Nightline,” “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos, “ABC News Live Prime” with Linsey Davis, plus the daily news podcast “Start Here.”

Connect with ABC News on social media:

[tommylucero]

T
Back in the 80s they warned the people that were buying foothill property that this can happen, but no one listened

[ahr]

I feel badly but this is NOT out of the blue. I used to own a home in RPV and I loved living there. The gorgeous views, the safe, quiet neighborhoods and even our own modest mall and movie theaters. It felt like a different world from greater LA county. I feel for the people but the ground movement has been a known issue for DECADES. It was something most of us acknowledged and then just blew off for the most part. The rains months ago just accelerated the issue that was already coming. The entire peninsula can't be put at risk because of this. The utilities are made of pipes, wires and conduit that all break when stretched or are bent. Shutting off the utilities in a controlled way (vs in an emergency) prevents huge areas around them from dangers of fires from broken gas mains or power line electrical fires (like the one that recently happened before shut off). If the water isn't already shut off it has to be because a broken water main will not only cause loss if water to others in the area but a broken waterain will make thing way worse and accelerate their land sliding even more. The fire hydrant water pipes would lose pressure in the areas around them if broken. The sewer system requires electricity to work and even working normally pose a raw sewage spill issue if the pipes break. What would they have done if the slide had moved so badly the homes were totally destroyed?
IMHO They should implement THAT plan NOW because that will eventually happen. In a perfect world you could maybe get geologists to figure a way to re stabilize the movement (you can NEVER stop the movement) and then totally rebuild and shore up the hillside and then rebuild all the homes from the ground up. That would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to do and the problem would STILL exist. We sold our place in large part because of this issue. We just didn't want to risk it anymore. I feel badly for these people and hope they get help. But they need help relocating to an a new home on stable ground. Not help enabling their denial of reality. Bless them all and I pray there isn't an earthquake on Palos Verdes fault line (a real thing) anytime soon. They're suffering enough. IMHO

[sharynwest]

The guy at the end is not getting it. He and his solar powered home are going to slide and collapse.

[nancymorrison]

When Mother Earth tells you it's time to move, move!

[RitaMoore-umdm]

That has been a slid area forever!!!! Who in the hell let them build ANYTHING there is the biggest

[reecom]

“Residents install generators to keep sewer lines running…” a septic system is gravity drain to the septic tank and then to the leach field and not connected to the city sewer system. With the land sliding a foot a week, any installed underground would be destroyed.

[alwaysyouramanda]

First they said 140 homes. Now it’s “over 200.” Makes you wonder what the real number is.

[TinShackVideos]

It was sliding in the early `70's when I was a kid. Homeowners
were having jacks installed under their houses and were raising
them every week or so.

[williamd]

Time to call it quits, suck up your bravado, and move on. They are just throwing money down a dry hole.

[joelds]

Never should have built homes here. This coastal bluff has been shifting, moving for a century or more. Remember news about this area in the 60's.

[CreativeMoments]

Hasn't this been a warning for many years for this area? So why isn't there a better emergency planned? Why do people build homes here if they know this is probably going to happen?

[Jayzilla-jrfr]

The Earth is trying to shake off the fleas.

[AussieBodybuilder]

Sue the homebuilders, the city and the state for allowing houses to be built on unstable grounds

[loualiberti]

Stop rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic !!
Abandon Ship !!!!

[deborahharrison]

They were warned in the 80s. The privileged didn't listen

[Castle]

Wow
I grew in southern California
Millionaires sliding down the hill

[loreneaustin]

If that county knew this was an issue in the 1950's no developer should have been allowed to build homes in those areas

[AussieBodybuilder]

Imagine owning a home that's worthless

[worzi]

Didn't they know it was a landslide area before they bought it?

[jacobsmith-hiey]

sucks to be those idiots since they were warned before development