Long Beach Beachfront Homes Crumble After Storm, Residents Blame Mayor Richardson

Tropical Storm Rachel battered the Long Beach shoreline, leaving a string of high-value oceanfront homes severely damaged or condemned. Long-time resident Dennis Poulsen, renter Natalie Cabrera and veteran homeowner Robert Wells all criticized Mayor Rex Richardson, alleging the city showed little concern and that flood defenses worsened the impact. City officials handed out about 7,600 sandbags for this storm, raising the total for recent events to roughly 15,000, yet eight structures received red tags and another a yellow tag.

Residents contend that a protective sand berm amplified flooding, prompting a class-action lawsuit against the municipality. Richardson acknowledged the unprecedented damage and said crews are working day and night to mitigate the crisis.