Several homes perched on cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in LA County have been left without power due to worsening landslides.
The community of Rancho Palos Verdes – 25 miles (40km) south of downtown Los Angeles – has long struggled with land instability, but authorities say the problem has worsened in recent months.
Now, utility companies are stepping in over fears of fires and other damage from rapidly shifting land while some residents insist on staying in their multi-million dollar homes.
Southern California Edison has cut power to 140 homes in the Portuguese Bend area on Sunday and may cut more.
“The movement has accelerated dramatically over the past 12 months, with some areas experiencing up to 10 inches (25cm) of flooding per week,” city council member David Bradley said, according to CNN.
“You could almost see the ground moving.”
Another 105 customers in the city of 42,000 people were notified they would lose power on Monday.
Last week, a downed power line sparked a small wildfire in Portuguese Bend.
“The land movement in the Portuguese Bend community created such a dangerous situation that we had to make the very difficult decision to shut off power indefinitely to prevent that equipment from starting a wildfire,” said Larry Chung, a spokesman for the utility.
The gas and water supply has been cut off in this upscale residential area.
The 680-acre (276-hectare) landslide had been happening slowly for years. But it was accelerated in part by heavy rainfall in California over the past two years, experts said.
“The acceleration that is happening now is beyond what we could have predicted and requires a much greater response from the state and federal government,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said at a press conference on Sunday.
The county’s top official added that $5m (£3.8m) had been set aside for disaster relief, but more was needed. She called on California Governor Gavin Newsom to personally visit the area and declare a state of emergency.
Authorities have encouraged people to evacuate, but evacuation is not mandatory at this time.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said police will deploy drones to monitor the area.
Resident Jim Denver told ABC News he refused to leave and said Southern California Edison “left us in the middle of the ocean to swim home.”
“They can send out all the warnings they want,” another resident, Tom Keefer, told the New York Times. “We’re not leaving.”
This slow-moving landslide was part of an ancient landslide complex that was rekindled by the county’s 1956 expansion of Crenshaw Boulevard.
It is one of the largest continuous landslides in the United States and has moved homes hundreds of feet over the years. The city also spends about $1 million a year repairing a major road that continues to shift and crack.
