Effort launched to stop beach erosion after high surf from Marie damages Long Beach homes, boardwalk

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- More beach erosion caused by pounding surf from Hurricane Marie is showing up along the Southern California coastline, damaging homes.

On Thursday, some Long Beach residents returned to their beachfront homes to find damage to their properties and a tattered boardwalk.

Along that stretch of Long Beach, erosion is leaving its mark. The waves keep coming in and, in some places, they're taking the coastline with them.

"I just can't believe what I'm seeing right now, you know, the damage and everything. This boardwalk is just just priceless. I mean, it's been here for so many years," said Long Beach resident Denise Reyes.

The city of Long Beach is asking the public to stay clear of the area while they continue repairs as there are many hazards.

"Really sad to see what's happening with the boardwalk here. This is a favorite area of ours. We come walk this regularly and we spend a lot of time on the beach here, so very sad to see it being torn apart like this," said resident Steve Demos.

In Long Beach, the mandatory evacuations have been lifted. No homes were red-tagged, however, one home was yellow-tagged. It leaves residents with the question, what now?

"I don't know. You can't stop mother nature, so I'm not sure what they'll do. They've always built these berms here. This has been something they do every year," Demos said. "These waves haven't been this bad this early in the year. Usually it's a winter time thing, so it's showing that times are changing. I'm not sure how they're going to solve this problem."

Meanwhile, Malibu is dealing with erosion as well. A massive sinkhole opened up Tuesday morning, damaging properties and blocking residents and emergency access.

Mandatory evacuations and red tags remain in place in Malibu. Residents there are also preparing for more potential storms associated with a powerful forecasted El Niño.