What arrived on California's shores on October 9 was, on paper, a tropical storm. What it delivered was a verdict: the state's coastal infrastructure, pounded by two prior storms in the span of five weeks, was not ready for what is still coming. Tropical Storm Rachel — which had peaked as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening over the Pacific — pushed powerful swells through the wooden bulkhead shielding Long Beach's Alamitos Peninsula, destroying sections of the historic boardwalk, cracking home foundations, and forcing the city to deem at least 13 residences unsafe to occupy by October 11.
