Hurricane Marie is sending powerful surf and hazardous rip currents toward the Southern California coast, prompting flooding, water rescues and urgent efforts to protect beachfront homes from encroaching ocean water.
The storm is spinning in the eastern Pacific off Baja California and is not forecast to come ashore in California. Even without a direct landfall, its effects are already being felt at beaches from Los Angeles County to Orange County.
In Seal Beach on Saturday, waves pushed seawater into parking areas near the pier, inundating low-lying spots and leaving some vehicles stuck in floodwater.
Video obtained by ABC7 showed about a dozen people working together to shove one swamped vehicle out of the rising water.
By nightfall, damp sand had been carried across the boardwalk, and flooding remained visible around homes lining the shore.
“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.
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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.