Hurricane Marie is impacting the Southern California coastline with powerful swells and dangerous rip currents, triggering flooding, water rescues and a frantic effort to keep ocean water away from homes.
The storm, churning in the eastern Pacific off the coast of Baja California, is not expected to make landfall in the Golden State — but it is already hitting beaches in Los Angeles County to Orange County.
At Seal Beach on Saturday, ocean water surged into parking lots near the pier, flooding low-lying areas and trapping vehicles.
Video obtained by ABC7 showed roughly a dozen people joining forces to push one overwhelmed vehicle out of the floodwaters.
By nighttime, wet sand had spread across the boardwalk and flooding was still visible at homes along the shoreline.
“This is crazy. I’ve lived here for 20+ years, and usually we get like 1- to 2-foot waves. But when we get the storm to come in here, it’s like, crazy. We’re just not used to that,” Seal Beach resident Clifford Scarborough said.
Crews responded by constructing a berm and pumping seawater back toward the ocean. The 8th Street and 10th Street parking lots that were inundated are expected to remain closed through Wednesday.
The dangerous conditions weren’t limited to Seal Beach.
In Manhattan Beach, a lifeguard rescue was caught on video as towering swells and powerful currents created hazardous conditions despite Marie remaining hundreds of miles away.
“It’s extremely concerning — having children, you’re always on high alert,” Melissa Sann of Mid-Wilshire said.
Los Angeles County lifeguards are preparing for a particularly busy holiday weekend, with officials anticipating more than 1,000 water rescues. On a typical day, that number can be around 500.
“We’re expecting to see these elevated wave heights in the 3- to 5-foot range, with sets up to 6- to 8-feet up in some of our standout beaches up in Zuma Beach and Malibu,” Los Angeles County Fire Department ocean lifeguard specialist Jake Miller told ABC7.
Lifeguards are warning beachgoers to check conditions before entering the water and to recognize their own limits as the storm-generated swells continue to arrive.
The National Weather Service has warned that Marie’s effects could include coastal flooding, dangerous rip currents, beach erosion and large waves across Southern California.
“There is an increased risk for ocean drowning,” the NWS warned, saying rip currents could become “widespread and very strong” and potentially pull swimmers and surfers away from shore.
The agency also warned that large breaking waves could injure people, sweep beachgoers from rocks and beaches and overturn small boats near shore.
Low-lying coastal areas could see seawater flooding around high tide, particularly vulnerable stretches including Avalon, Long Beach’s Alamitos Peninsula and the coastline from Oxnard to Malibu, including Point Mugu, according to the NWS.
The weather service has issued coastal flood, high surf and small craft advisories, along with a beach hazards statement, for parts of Southern California through Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center said Marie is expected to weaken steadily and become a post-tropical remnant low by Wednesday.
But the storm’s swells are expected to continue affecting Southern California for several days, potentially creating life-threatening surf and rip-current conditions.
Back in Seal Beach, Scarborough said the weekend’s flooding was a stark reminder of the ocean’s power. “It just shows you how powerful it is. We have to respect nature,” he said.
