LA threatened by 'ancient landslide' activated by latest tunneling as state of emergency declared

Residents of Rancho Palos Verdes , a city in South LA County, are faced with tough decisions as power is shut to their homes under threat of landslides - which the city manager says may be due to 'an ancient landslide' that has been disturbed.

Rancho Palos Verdes City Manager Ara Mihranian said "Although the current problem was prompted by the 2023 rains , Mihranian said the crisis is due to specific geological conditions he described an "ancient landslide that goes back thousands of years,'' which was activated by more recent tunneling involving a section of Crenshaw Boulevard.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the city on Tuesday afternoon, aiming to mobilize state resources for assistance.

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Janice Hahn, a Los Angeles county supervisor, sounded the alarm of a worsening crisis at a press conference Monday.

“I think we’re all learning there is no playbook for an emergency like this one,” Hahn said. “What we do know is many families are struggling, are suffering, are feeling great anxiety about what is happening. They are watching their homes – they are watching their streets – crumble around them," Hahn said.

She added, “This is bigger than Rancho Palos Verdes. This land movement is so gigantic and so damaging that one city or one homeowners organization should not have to bear this burden alone.”

Officials attribute this to the heavy rainfall over the past two winters, which has resulted in buckled roads and crumbling homes, as well as 'tunneling' that activated a land shift. The change has been happening for decades, but the landslides have recently begun moving at a rate of up to a foot per week.

The tunneling has happened over the course of a decade, with various tunnels for public transportation built as well as other developments and construction in the area, according to previous news bulletins .

Hahn also announced an additional $5 million in county funds to address the disaster but emphasized that much more funding is required.

On Sunday, power was cut off to 140 homes in the Portuguese Bend area of Rancho Palos Verdes, a neighborhood located about a mile up the coast. An evacuation warning was also issued in that case. On Monday, Southern California Edison cut services to 105 Seaview residents over 'landslide concerns.'

Other neighborhoods may also experience power outages if conditions deteriorate further.