California buildings still in peril from tumbling cliff
CTV
About two dozen people forced to flee Southern California apartment buildings endangered by a tumbling oceanside hill may be evacuated indefinitely.
About two dozen people forced to flee Southern California apartment buildings endangered by a tumbling oceanside hill may be evacuated indefinitely.
Three clifftop apartment buildings and one nearby building in coastal Orange County's San Clemente were red-tagged and evacuated Wednesday when the land began to shift and slide away from their backyards down a hillside following torrential rains.
Residents were warned Thursday that they may not be allowed back for a while. Authorities said there was no timetable for declaring the slope stable enough for residents to return.
"I think everyone should understand we have a dynamic situation here," Mayor Chris Duncan said during a news conference. "We have another rainstorm coming, the ground is continuing to move, so these structures are still in peril."
The National Weather Service said heavy rain could hit Southern California again early next week.
Twenty to 30 residents were evacuated. Some were briefly allowed back home on Thursday to move out their belongings.
Orange County was added to a presidential emergency declaration for areas hard-hit by natural disasters.
