Music festival in Santa Monica canceled due to coastal erosion
In Santa Monica, California, the two-day Ocean Way Festival, which had been scheduled to take place later this month, was canceled. The reason was significant coastal erosion on the beach: high waves and stormwater drainage runoff damaged the area where the event was to be held.
As Asharq Al-Awsat reports, The Killers, Olivia Dean, and Jack White were expected to take part in the festival. Santa Monica city authorities said that storm surf caused by Hurricane Marie and runoff from a stormwater drainage outlet washed away a significant part of the festival grounds.
The beach became unsuitable for the event
According to city authorities, the storm caused heavy surf in the Pacific Ocean over the past week and washed a significant amount of sand off the beach. As a result, the site was no longer considered safe for holding the festival.
Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis said that tens of thousands of visitors could not be accommodated at the site until it becomes safe. Wave heights in the area reached 4.5 meters.
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Erosion affected other cities
Powerful surf also damaged neighboring Malibu. Authorities there ordered the evacuation of residents from 31 homes because of a large sinkhole that formed in the driveway of a coastal house owned by actor Nicolas Cage.
In the city of Dana Point, at least seven homes were declared uninhabitable after rapid coastal erosion, and one house collapsed into the sea. Similar problems occurred in neighboring Laguna Beach.
The source notes that Pacific Ocean waters have been rough in recent weeks due to a series of tropical storms, some of which developed into hurricanes. Scientists believe that a near-record-strength El Niño episode is warming ocean waters and increasing their variability, while human-caused climate change is likely exacerbating these effects.
