Ed Mazza
The Huffington Post
California apartments with commanding views of the Pacific are now in danger of collapsing into the ocean.
Erosion blamed on El Niño rains is tearing away at the cliffs of Pacifica, just outside San Francisco. Drone footage shows how volatile the situation is, and how close to the literal edge some apartments are:
At one point, the drone captured video of people standing on their terraces as part of the cliff under the apartment buildings next door crumbled:
Some of the apartments were condemned years ago due to the erosion, but now the city has shuttered more units and at least two homes, according to ABC 7.
The city also declared a state of emergency.
Residents in the newly condemned apartments are finding notices on their doors allowing them to enter only long enough to collect their belongings:
http://twitter.com/WayneFreedman/status/691753742564200448/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
About 20 apartments have been condemned so far, according to KRON 4.
“We have no clue on where we’re going to go. I just moved in. I just got my place,” resident Monica Montoya, who must vacate her apartment by Monday night, told CBS News. “Finally got my housing, and now I have to move out.”
The network reports that at least one home collapsed into the ocean during the 1998 El Niño year, and several others were demolished before they, too, collapsed.
The Red Cross and Pacifica Resource Center are standing by to assist those forced out of their homes.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pacifica-cliff-collapse_us_56a6d5a8e4b01a3ed123bd2f