Geologists inspecting the Portuguese Bend neighborhood of Rancho Palos Verdes say the land movement in the area is more severe than originally thought. Amber Frias reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024.
Geologists revealed at a city council meeting Tuesday that shifting land movement that prompted gas service to shut off in a Rancho Palos Verdes neighborhood could potentially threaten hundreds of more homes.
Scientists working to stop the movement said their findings showed the issue is much deeper than they originally thought. After SoCalGas announced in late July that it would no longer provide service to the Portuguese Bend neighborhood due to land movement, geologists began testing the area. They found the issue below the surface, described as a much deeper “slip plain,” is moving faster than anticipated and wider.
Ramzi Awwad, a Public Works director, described the speed of the land movement as “new and unprecedented.”
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As a result of the unsettling discovery, scientists are sounding the alarm to bring attention to the issue.
In a diagram presented at the meeting, researchers marked in red lines where they thought the issue was in the Portuguese Bend landslide. A blue line, however, showed the real issue – the Altamira slip plain, which potentially stretches under several current landslides.
The plain could encompass Rolling Hills and it’s believed to be moving up to 100 times faster than five years ago.
The team is now asking the City Council to allocate nearly $10 million to study and stop the land movement.
Already 135 homes lost their gas utilities due to the movement and now, they’re concerned they may soon lose power, too.
