Along the West Coast in September 2026, communities braced for a sequence of storms amplified by El Niño's warm Pacific currents — a reminder that the ocean does not negotiate with the shorelines we have built upon. Dana Point, California, where years of erosion have already drawn the waterline closer to residential foundations, became a focal point for the quiet, urgent work of preparation. What unfolded was less a crisis of surprise than a reckoning with choices made over decades: homes placed near bluffs, beaches allowed to thin, and now a weekend that would measure the cost of that accumul
El Niño storms threaten West Coast beaches and homes this weekend
Homes and communities face potential damage and displacement risk from incoming El Niño-powered storms.