Land Movement In Palos Verdes Down To 3 Inches Per Week on Average
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — Average land movement in Rancho Palos Verdes has significantly decreased since the beginning of 2024, decelerating by over 76 percent.
In June, the city reported that land movement rates reached up to 13 inches per week at the center of the landslide. As of Oct. 29, average movement velocity has dropped to 3.3 inches per week, according to a staff report, and movement in the Klondike Canyon Landslide has completely stopped.
Over the past eight weeks, land movement rates in the Landslide Complex have decelerated to a rate of about 3.5 to 5.5 inches per week in the Abalone Cove Landslide and about 0.5 to 3.5 inches per week in the Portuguese Bend Landslide.
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“The past year has been marked by a significant and unprecedented change in movement
behavior from historical movements of the Portuguese Bend, Abalone Cove and Klondike Canyon Landslides,” city officials said.
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Despite the significant increase, the landslide complex as a whole is still moving approximately 25 times faster than in October 2022, according to the city. Land movement continues to impact trails and open space areas, roads and properties including 18 red-tagged and 38 yellow-tagged residences.
On Nov. 2, a CalWater break caused severe damage to upper Burma Road Trail and surrounding areas, leading officials to close upper Portuguese Bend and Filiorum Reserves.
“Out of concern for public safety and in consultation with the City Geologist, the City Manager has temporarily closed large areas of the Preserve and open space areas consisting of approximately 16 miles of passive recreation trails,” city officials said.
The Portuguese Bend landslide emergency response is projected to reach approximately $43.6 million beginning in October 2022 through June 2025.
The City Council will receive an update on Tuesday about the efforts to slow movement in the landslide area and prepare for the rainy months.
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