NASA finds parts of Palos Verdes Peninsula is creeping toward the ocean several inches a week

Yahoo

05-02-2025

Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory found that portions of land on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, home to an affluent Southern California city that faced an emergency declaration last year, have crept toward the Pacific Ocean by as much as four inches a week, according to a news release.
Parts of the Los Angeles County peninsula 'are part of an ancient complex of landslides and has been moving for at least the past six decades,' according to the news release. The active area expanded after heavy rain drenched Southern California in 2023 and early last year, the news release said.
The findings were from data collected by NASA's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar, an imaging radar instrument that was attached to a jet. The flights took place between Sept. 18 — which was about two weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Rancho Palos Verdes — and Oct. 17.
It comes as Southern California Edison announced in January that it'd be restoring power to specific areas in Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills, two cities that call the peninsula home.
Last September, Newsom declared a state of emergency for Rancho Palos Verdes in response to the accelerated land movement that disrupted many residents' utility services, including electricity and gas. The loss of utility services triggered evacuation warnings for some residents.
Properties identified as Southern California Edison alerted properties had been alerted by Southele land movement' over the past 18 months was putting 'the utilities serving the area' at risk, and that service could b discontinued.
'The ground movement affecting your neighborhood has created unsafe and hazardous conditions, which have already impacted SCE's infrastructure, causing power poles to lean and power lines to fail,' the July 30th update read. 'The impact on SCE's equipment caused by these hazardous conditions increases the risk of system failure, fire ignition, or other public safety hazards.'
In late August, a landslide collapsed a power line, leading to a small brush fire, USA TODAY reported. Southern California Edison said in an update that the fire showed that they could not mitigate the public safety risk from land movement in the area. By early September, the utility provider cut power to more than 200 homes and businesses, according to the emergency declaration.
Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: NASA data shows how much land is moving in Palos Verdes Peninsula