Coastal storm damage, sea wall repair, planning for the future

Pacifica Tribune/Local News/Lorie D. Tinfow, City Manager, 2/6/16. "Storm damage in Pacifica."

In this City, hopefully the plan
will be better than: "run!"

....  "On Friday, January 22, 2016, storm #11 hit, bringing with it powerful waves once again. The temporary fix was no match for the storm and the sea wall cap that had remained in place gave way leaving an open gash in the sea wall. This additional failure caused me to issue the declaration of local emergency that the City Council confirmed on January 25.

....  Although storm damage isn’t a new issue in Pacifica, what does seem different now is the way the damage is occurring. Pacifica is being battered by an unrelenting barrage of storms (12 so far this season) that may be a harbinger of the new normal in terms of weather, at least during our periodic bouts with El Niño. Saturated soil from rain, high winds from storms, and large, powerful waves enhanced by warmer oceans and increased King tides, are a combination that we can’t respond to on our own.In that respect, Pacifica may be the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to climate change damage to coastal communities, a problem that is far bigger than our city alone.

The City Council and I will be discussing how to create a plan for the City’s future. In the meantime, we have created a new webpage to share information about the City’s storm response and resources available to those affected at http://www.cityofpacifica.org/el_nino_storm.asp."  Read article. 

Reference, City of Pacifica, City Manager's Office.   

Note photographs. Left: Beach Blve CNN/Tony Marco, 1/26/16.  Right: Sharp Park Pier from Detroit News/Associated Press, 1/31/16.  Beach Blvd from Weather Underground/WunderBlog/Dr. Jeff Masters, 1/7/8. 

Posted by Kathy Meeh