Waves have stripped sand from Southern California beaches, damaged seawalls and forced evacuations. An intensifying El Niño could bring more trouble this winter.
Carlsbad has declared a local emergency to protect a coastal road threatened by erosion, becoming the latest Southern California community to confront damaged shorelines as a potentially powerful El Niño raises concerns about the coming winter.
The city’s Sept. 9 declaration will accelerate bluff stabilization along South Carlsbad Boulevard, where inspectors found pavement cracks in June. Engineers recommended extending a protective rock barrier about 192 feet.
Similar erosion problems are emerging up and down the Southern California coast…