Rancho Palos Verdes is already facing setbacks to potential efforts to reduce soil movement. Last month, the city said it had A deeper landslide was exposed which is also active in the area. At a depth of more than 300 feet, the movement is too fast and too far to dig drains and pumps to extract water underground, officials said.
Now that state of emergency Announced, Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank said the money allocated would go toward helping city government and landslide prevention efforts, but not individual homeowners.
Homeowners whose power has been shut off will need thousands of dollars or more to convert to off-grid options like solar and battery technology. A local CBS affiliate said on Wednesday. He hopes that the state will help cover such expenses.
Residents are already on the hook for damage to their homes, Cruikshank added, because typical home insurance policies don’t cover landslides, of which there are hundreds. is documented in California every year.
Tim Kelly, a mechanical engineer who moved to the Portuguese Bend neighborhood of Rancho Palos Verdes 30 years ago, said he now relies on his solar panels for power and stays in his home. He attended a public meeting Tuesday where residents urged city officials to come up with a solution.
“We’re resilient,” Kelly said of the community. “We’re not going anywhere.”
Kelly said other homes in his area have shifted on their foundations, with some properties cracking and splitting into pieces, but his home is stable. He and his neighbors will not leave their homes and expect government leaders and scientists to figure out how best to “stop the slide.”
For decades, local government has failed to establish long-term solutions to prevent the canyon from saturating and draining into the ocean, Kelly said. Now, the issue is coming to a head for the city and time is of the essence.
“The patient is sick,” said Kelly, “and something must be done to revive him.”
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