Soil erosion devours California’s railways, homes and beaches

Photo by: Matthew J Thomas / iStock

Climate change is taking its toll on southern California’s coastline. There are picturesque beaches, a ridge of country villas and the important Pacific Surfliner rail line. Now soil erosion in the area has worsened to a catastrophic state. Ocean waves have eroded the sandy beaches, begun to reach the railway and erode the basement beneath it.

Not so long ago, the railway was covered in tonnes of sand to strengthen the ground. But the measure proved insufficient, and in a short time the sand was washed away by the ocean waves. The disappearance of the beach left no barrier between the ocean and the rails, so nothing could protect them from tropical storm Kay, which hit the coast in September. Consequently, the railway between San Diego and San Luis Obispo, which carries 8.3 million passengers annually, was closed for emergency work.

The residents of the Cypress Shore settlement nearest the beach, an enclave of hundreds of villas, have been sounding the alarm for years, not only because of the loss of the beach and problems with the railway, but also because without a protective beach the hillside on which the settlement stands is eroding and, if no serious action is taken, the homes could soon slide down to the sea. The area is in the premium class and villas here are worth millions of dollars. Already now, two villas have cracked walls and are uninhabitable.

According to San Clemente Acting Mayor Chris Duncan, the tragedy of the looming waters is not limited to an area near and near the city, but is a statewide problem. “The entire coast of California is threatened by climate change and coastal erosion,” Duncan said.

The San Clemente authorities are now trying to stabilise the shifting railway tracks by reinforcing the dam with stones. Over a year, 18,000 tonnes of rock have been deposited here, but the problem remains unsolved. According to Duncan, the beach needs to be restored by installing breakwaters along the shoreline. There’s also the idea of moving the railway away from the ocean, but the cost of such a project is very high, so it’s unlikely to be realised for now.

Erosion is a natural phenomenon that has largely shaped the continents for thousands of years. But now it has been accelerated by global warming, which is melting glaciers and raising sea levels. It is already known that humanity’s uncontrolled burning of fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution has caused the average global temperature to rise by 1.2 °C.

According to a study published in 2019 by the California state legislature, by 2050, much of the state’s infrastructure could be underwater. Namely, various structures worth between $8 and $10 billion. In addition, other structures worth between $6 billion and $10 billion will be in the tidal hazard zone.

Cover photo: Amtrak