Storm surge, swells and flooding from three tropical systems tested coastal and water infrastructure in the U.S. and Mexico last week. Surf damaged a bulkhead on the Long Beach Peninsula in California, a Florida county shut down an island’s water and sewer system and seven Florida counties were under boil-water notices through Tuesday. In Mexico, Hurricane Simon flooded streets and caused widespread power outages in Acapulco.

Tropical Storm Rachel

Surf from Tropical Storm Rachel significantly damaged about 30 feet of the bulkhead protecting the Long Beach Peninsula in California between 65th and 66th places, and crews filled the gap with about 1,000 sandbags where wave action had destroyed the lumber, the city said in an Oct. 8 release. By Friday, the surf had torn apart a section of the wooden boardwalk that serves as the neighborhood’s last line of defense and sent water through gaps in the bulkhead onto side streets, LAist reported. City inspectors red-tagged buildings on Seaside Walk as unsafe to enter, the city said.

The city ordered mandatory evacuations Friday for the 6400 and 6500 blocks of Seaside Walk and issued an evacuation warning Saturday for nearby streets, NBC Los Angeles reported. Mayor Rex Richardson said in the city’s release that protecting residents was the top priority as high surf and erosion hit the peninsula. City crews used portable pumps to reduce water intrusion during emergency repairs, and the peninsula was closed to nonresidents starting at 62nd Place, NBC Los Angeles reported. The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood warning for Long Beach through 3 p.m. Sunday and an advisory through Monday, the city said.

Rachel hit just weeks after Hurricanes Marie and Polo, the city said. Marie’s surf in September forced the evacuation of about 20 homes, LAist reported, and stripped so much sand between 62nd and 69th places that city crews could not get trucks onto parts of the beach to rebuild the protective berm, Fox LA reported. The city accelerated its $11.4 million Alamitos Bay Channel Dredging Project, which will place 415,000 cubic yards of sand on the peninsula and extend the beach about 200 feet, to begin the week of Oct. 19, the city said. Before that, the city planned to move 50,000 to 100,000 cubic yards of sand onto the peninsula in an approximately $230,000 project paid for from its Tidelands Emergency Reserve. The city is also pursuing a $6.8 million design and permitting plan from consultant Moffatt & Nichol for a rock revetment, a backup wall of boulders behind the beach, LAist reported.

About 15 miles southeast, higher-than-normal surf flooded streets on Newport Beach’s Balboa Peninsula on Thursday night, and city crews responded by rebuilding beach berms, opening tide valves and operating pumping systems, the city said in a release. City Manager Seimone Jurjis, acting as director of emergency services, signed the declaration to help the city obtain more resources. The city maintains 86 tidal valves, which keep seawater from backing up through storm drains, and 18 pumps to clear standing water from streets near the harbor, Spectrum News reported. The water receded Friday afternoon, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Newport Beach closed all city beaches and piers until further notice, the police department said in a social media post. Newport Pier, Balboa Pier and the Wedge have since reopened, the city said. Huntington Beach activated its emergency operations center Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported. Coastal flood warnings covered beaches from Malibu to San Diego, and the weather service warned that damaging seawater flooding was likely on south-facing beaches, the Times reported.

In the Southwest, the weather service office in Flagstaff, Arizona, warned that Rachel’s remnant moisture could flood low-water crossings, creeks, dry washes and recently burned areas in Yavapai, western Coconino, northern Gila and far southern Navajo counties. 

Rachel’s remnants moved through the Las Vegas area Sunday, the weather service’s Las Vegas office said. The storm tied the city’s all-time daily rainfall record for October, The Associated Press reported. 

Hurricane Isaias

Okaloosa County Water & Sewer began shutting off drinking water mains and sewage lift stations on Okaloosa Island at noon Friday, ahead of Hurricane Isaias. The county said a forecast storm surge of 7 to 9 feet would cause a complete loss of the system if it stayed on. After the storm, power outages left many county drinking water wells on generator power, and the county asked customers to use only the water they absolutely needed. Island water and sewer service was restored Sunday morning, but the county said infrastructure remained strained, a few critical sites were compromised and conservation should continue.

Flooding also made County Road 393 impassable at the Shoal River and Pond Creek bridges, the county said Saturday. By Tuesday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection was coordinating with federal and regional partners on flooding concerns in Crestview and along the Shoal River, the governor’s office said.

Isaias made landfall near Destin at about 9:30 p.m. EDT Friday as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, and water levels in Panama City Beach rose about 5.6 feet above average high tide, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said. About 448,298 customer accounts were without power at 7 a.m. Saturday. Outages included about 90 percent of Santa Rosa County, 75 percent of Escambia County and 53 percent of Okaloosa County, News4Jax reported, citing figures released at the governor’s briefing. Crews inspected all coastal bridges by 6 a.m. Saturday, and all state-owned bridges were open, the governor’s office said. 

The weather service office in Mobile, Alabama, issued a flash flood emergency Friday evening for southern and coastal Okaloosa County, including Fort Walton Beach, Niceville and Destin, the warning said.

Boil-water notices remained in effect Tuesday in seven Florida counties, the governor’s office reported. Of the drinking water facilities reporting to the state, three were not operating and 39 were running on backup power. One wastewater facility was not operating and 30 were on backup power. The Department of Environmental Protection was also coordinating potable water deliveries to Baptist Hospital in Escambia County. The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority, a Pensacola-based water, wastewater and sanitation utility, issued a systemwide precautionary notice Friday, WEAR reported, and the notice remained in effect for all customers Sunday, ECUA said in a Facebook post. 

Ahead of landfall, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency for 40 counties. She also closed state offices in nine southern counties starting Friday at noon and ordered tourists and visitors to evacuate Baldwin County south of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, including Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, and Dauphin Island, her office said. President Donald Trump approved a federal emergency declaration for Baldwin, Escambia and Mobile counties and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, FEMA announced, WALA reported.

Heavy rain in western North Carolina overnight Saturday led to flooding, a few rescues and several landslides, Gov. Josh Stein’s office said. Statewide power outages peaked at just over 22,000, about half in the mountains. In McDowell County, first responders dealt with five landslides, flooded roads and voluntary evacuations, the AP reported. A landslide closed one lane of N.C. 226-A, WLOS reported, and another closed a road in Mitchell County, Spectrum News reported. In Burke County, officials reported at least two water rescues, including two people camping along the Catawba River who were caught by floodwaters.

The weather service issued flood advisories for all five New York City boroughs Sunday evening, AccuWeather reported.

Hurricane Simon

In Mexico, Hurricane Simon’s outer bands flooded Acapulco streets, sweeping away vehicles and flooding homes and businesses, the AP reported. Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado reported no casualties. The storm also halted maritime traffic and caused widespread power outages in the port, NTN24 reported.