Sheri Hastings finds herself residing on a site of creeping catastrophe: a series of landslides in the Portuguese Bend region of Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Over the past seven decades, this area has been gradually shifting, moving a few inches annually. However, in recent times, this pace has dramatically accelerated to an alarming rate of up to four inches per week. The primary culprit behind this surge in movement is attributed to heavy rains and runoff from nearby canyons, triggered by a succession of recent atmospheric rivers saturating the soil, causing instability in the vicinity.
The expansive landslide complex on the Palos Verdes Peninsula covers over a square mile and extends hundreds of feet deep in certain areas, steadily making its way towards the Pacific Ocean. Geologist Mike Phipps, with nearly forty years of experience studying the evolving landscape, has been enlisted by the city to oversee the shifting terrain. A crucial component of the city’s strategy to impede the landslide involves approximately twelve deep water wells extracting groundwater and diverting it towards the ocean.
“It’s a catastrophic situation, yet some residents are still managing to dwell in their homes up here. It’s almost as if they are perched on a colossal raft descending down the slope,” Phipps remarked. In October, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services jointly announced a voluntary buyout program amounting to $42 million for residents most severely impacted by the ongoing slide. Properties eligible for buyouts will be procured by the city and transformed into open spaces. Out of the 85 residents who submitted applications, an approximate 20 households are anticipated to be included in the initial funding round, as per the city’s projections.
Nevertheless, Hastings remains uninterested in participating in the buyout program. “It’s not an equitable proposition. You receive 75% of the value your home held two years ago. Moreover, you are responsible for covering the demolition and removal costs,” Hastings expressed. The FEMA-funded buyout initiative only furnishes 75% of the necessary funds for the city to purchase affected properties at fair market rates, leaving sellers liable for the remaining 25%, according to the guidelines of the program.
Hastings revealed that her property damage is not covered by insurance, and as a result, her life savings are gradually slipping away. “There is a widespread misconception that all of us residing here are affluent. The reality is quite the contrary. Our homes represented our financial security. It is not feasible for us to simply acquire another residence,” Hastings emphasized.
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