The city of Rancho Palos Verdes in California, USA enters a state of emergency due to accelerated ground movement

Recently, the city of Rancho Palos Verdes in California, USA is facing a serious crisis. On September 3 local time, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the city because the severe ground movement in the area poses a major threat to the community and affects power transmission lines.

It is reported that in Rancho Palos Verdes, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles, after the severe storms in 2023 and 2024, the ground movement speed in some areas of five sub-landslides in the "Great Portuguese Landslide Complex" has significantly accelerated, and four of the sub-landslides are located in this city. On the 2nd local time, more than 200 households were without power due to the long-term threat of ground movement near them to power transmission lines. Southern California Edison cut off power to 140 households in the Portuguese Bend community on the 1st and said it would have an indefinite power outage because ground movement poses a threat to power poles and increases the risk of fires in the city. Another 105 households lost power on the evening of September 2.

Local officials said that the ground in this area has been slowly moving for decades, but now the problem has become more serious. David Bradley, a council member of Rancho Palos Verdes, said, "In the past 12 months, the speed of ground movement has increased dramatically. In some areas, the ground moves 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) per week. You can almost see the ground moving."

In the face of this emergency, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said on the 1st that Los Angeles County has allocated an additional $5 million to deal with this disaster. At the same time, Hahn also pointed out that "this landslide has been going on for decades, but currently the ground movement speed exceeds predictions, which requires more responses from the state government and the federal government." At present, relevant departments are actively taking measures to ensure the safety of the lives and property of local residents and are working hard to deal with various problems caused by the accelerated ground movement. The subsequent development will also receive extensive attention.