Gas, electricity, and even water has now been cut to residents of a California coastal city who have been warned to evacuate at a moment’s notice after land movements left areas virtually uninhabitable.
Rancho Palos Verdes, south of LA, has been dubbed America’s richest retirement town, but many poorer residents have been left with nowhere to go after surging groundwater knocked out its utility network.
Gas was cut to 135 homes at the start of August before their power and water supplies were switched off on Sunday.
California Governor Mike Newsom has been urged to intervene with a further 105 homes due to lose their electricity at 7pm on Monday as the chaos spreads across the city.
‘I have no idea where in the hell I’m going,’ said resident Nikki Noushkam as she prepared to abandon her home. ‘Why do you think it’s ok to ignore us? We have lost everything and we are not rich, we are working professionals.’
The ground under California’s Rancho Palos Verdes has been disintegrating under the pressure from more than a year of floods and landslides
Resident Mike Hong has accused utility companies of abandoning the city’s residents
The coastal community has been blighted by landslides since torrential rain hit the area in spring of last year.
Dozens of homes were destroyed by landslides in July last year and floods tore through the area during the storms that hit California in February causing ‘considerable land movement’ under the homes that survived.
Southern California Edison made the decision to cut the supply after a fire was sparked by a power line that toppled on Thursday and 10,000 gallons of sewage spewed from a ruptured tank on Palos Verdes Drive South.
‘At this point land movement has created such a dangerous situation that we must make the difficult decision to disconnect power indefinitely,’ said spokesman David Eisenhauer.
‘We never want to have to turn off power unless we absolutely must. In this case, we absolutely must. ‘We have an obligation that’s higher than providing electric service, and that obligation is safety.’
But resident Mike Hong said his neighbors were given just an hour’s notice that the plug was being pulled.
‘They are giving us even less time than the gas company,’ he told the LA Times.
‘Don’t abandon us. Where’s the humanity in this?’
More than a quarter of the city’s residents are over 65 and some have been ordered to start packing their bags.
Nikki Noushkam has been left with nowhere to go as she prepared to abandon her home
LA County Sheriff Robert Luna promised a fleet of drones to patrol the neighborhood and warned opportunist thieves against targeting the growing number of abandoned homes
‘SCE has determined there is a public safety threat,’ the city told them in a notice on Saturday.
‘Do not use water or plumbing after the power is shut off — this could result in a sewer spill.
‘All persons in these zones should prepare to evacuate and seek alternative housing.
‘Pack important documents, medications, and essential items. Make arrangements for pets and animals.’
The city of 42,000 has a median income of $166,747, and was labeled the country’s richest retirement town in a recent survey by CNBC.
But residents say its wealthy reputation has left it ignored by politicians and placed its vulnerable residents at particular risk.
‘Everybody must assume that everybody who lives in Rancho Palos Verdes is infinitely wealthy and that is not the case, especially for me,’ Craig Cadwallader told CBS News.
‘So I literally don’t know where I’m going.’
County Supervisor Janice Hahn said she had committed another $5 million in county funds to help with the disaster and repeated her demands for Governor Newsom to step in.
‘There is no playbook for an emergency like this one,’ she told a news conference on Sunday.
County Supervisor Janice Hahn has demanded intervention from Governor Gavin Newsom
The coastal city of 42,000 has a median income of $166,747, and was labeled the country’s richest retirement town in a recent survey by CNBC
But resident Craig Cadwallader said that the city’s poorer residents are being overlooked
‘We’re sparing no expense. This is bigger than Rancho Palos Verdes. This land movement is so gigantic and so damaging, that one city should not have to bear the burden alone.
‘You’d figure if this was an earthquake or if it was a fire or a flash flood I feel like we might have got a different response.’
SoCal Edison will cut power to another 105 customers on Monday evening in the Seaview area on Monday evening, blaming the ‘accelerated land movement that is causing damage to our electrical equipment.
The company was unable to give an estimate for when some would have their power restored
‘It’s just kind of mind-blowing,’ said one resident. ‘It doesn’t feel legal.’
LA County Sheriff Robert Luna promised a fleet of drones to patrol the neighborhood and warned opportunist thieves against targeting the growing number of abandoned homes.
‘We are ready to arrest you, and you are going to go to jail if you come here to steal anything,’ he added.
‘Do not think about it.’