Rachel deluges Southwest with rain, but battered coast catches a break
asserted
coast → deluge → break
Wide swaths of the Southwest were deluged Sunday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel weakened and moved inland, but coastal communities already battered by high surf emerged with less damage than some officials feared.
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officials → deluge → damage
The National Weather Service said Sunday morning that Rachel was no longer a tropical storm.
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Rachel → say → ?
But danger remained as waves crashed into beachfront homes in Long Beach, large rocks and mud hurtled down a mountain onto a highway south of Palm Desert, and flood water submerged the parking lot of a casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
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water → remain → Strip
While the downgrading of Sunday’s storms brought some relief, risks continue across the California coast until Tuesday, and there is the longer-term concern of what is expected to be an active El Niño season.
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what → bring → Tuesday
The coastal flooding that damaged homes and flooded roads this week from Newport Beach to Long Beach came from a highly unusual combination of events that underscores the challenges California is facing amid predictions of a “super” El Nino winter.
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California → damage → winter
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” National Weather Service meteorologist Daniel Berc said Sunday morning.
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Berc → ’re → woods
Although the heaviest rain is over, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service, people across the Southwest can expect spotty rain and high tides for the next couple of days.
uncertain
people → accord → days
After tides swept away Long Beach’s historic wooden boardwalk Saturday, waves of saltwater rolled into a yellow two-story oceanfront house on Seaside Walk on Sunday.
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waves → sweep → Sunday
The ocean completely engulfed the house’s wooden deck.
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ocean → engulf → deck
A balcony had broken off and hung at a 30-degree angle toward the water.
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balcony → break → water
Yellow caution tape fluttered in the wind as water poured into a room strewn with wooden debris, an upturned refrigerator and a television.
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water → flutter → debris
The yellow house on Seaside Walk began to collapse Sunday morning, according to two Long Beach Fire Department lifeguards.
uncertain
house → begin → lifeguards
A house next door had cracks in its side, and others had wooden decks falling into or submerged in the water.
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others → have → water
Coastal flooding is expected to remain a threat on beaches in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
uncertain
flooding → expect → Service
Flood warnings are in effect along the L.A. County coast due to high tides driven by warm ocean water and lower atmospheric pressure with the arrival of the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
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Sirard → drive → Oxnard
South-facing beaches, he said, were particularly vulnerable.
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he → face → ?
Early Sunday morning, as Rachel was about 255 miles north-northeast of San Diego, moving with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, the National Hurricane Center said it was winding down its coverage and that its 8 a.m. update would be its last.
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update → move → coverage
But it also warned that seawater would continue to batter the Southern California coast.
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seawater → warn → coast
These waves, combined with an incoming long-period southerly swell, will cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
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waves → combine → surf
“These waves, combined with an incoming long-period southerly swell, will cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the National Hurricane Center said.
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Center → combine → surf
“Coastal flooding and erosion are expected to worsen this morning as the highest waves coincide with the high tides and water levels that are already running well above predicted levels.”
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that → expect → levels
Hazardous coastal conditions could continue for the next few days, the National Hurricane Center said, and Rachel could bring a total rainfall of 1 to 3 inches, with maximum amounts in some areas of 5 inches, from Southern California into the Great Basin and the U.S. Southwest.
uncertain
Rachel → continue → Basin
At a 10 a.m. briefing on Sunday morning, the National Weather Service said Las Vegas recorded 1.08 inches of rain, which ties the daily record for Oct. 11.
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which → say → Oct.
“And we still got 14 hours left to go,” Berc said.
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Berc → got → hours
Six miles south of Palm Desert in the Coachella Valley, rainfall caused flooding and a flow of rocks, mud and debris that blanketed the eastbound and westbound lanes of California 74 near Mile Marker 89, said weather service meteorologist Kyle Wheeler.
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Wheeler → cause → Marker
The National Weather Service in San Diego warned Sunday that elevated high tides and surf would cause coastal flooding and beach erosion through midweek, and showers and winds will linger from the coast to the mountains through Monday.
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showers → warn → Monday
In Long Beach, with less than two hours before high tide, workers on the Peninsula raced early Sunday morning to build a sand berm stretching westward from 62nd Place.
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workers → race → Place
The National Weather Service says Rachel is no longer a “tropical” storm, but risks persist.
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risks → say → ?
City groundskeeper Robert Quinonez, who was working with the track hoe operator, said he didn’t believe they could build the berm high enough in time to prevent water from spilling into the street like it did Saturday.
uncertain
it → work → street
The track hoe operator repeatedly spun the machine to the west, dug into a mound of sand, spun 180 degrees and dropped the sand.
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operator → spin → sand
“We build as much as we can up, and just…” Quinonez said, trailing off.
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Quinonez → build → much
Alphonso Tubbs, 56, chatted with Quinonez while looking at the work.
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Tubbs → chat → work
Tubbs and his girlfriend had recently bought a condo on the street and planned to move in a week.
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Tubbs → buy → street
Tubbs said he was grateful that the condo he bought was on the side of the street where the city was building a sandbar.
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city → say → sandbar
“Just imagine if I was just on that side,” he said, pointing east.
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he → imagine → side
“They’re about to get smashed.”
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They → smash → ?
Long Beach residents appeared divided on the city’s attempts to protect the oceanfront from water damage.
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residents → appear → damage
Long Beach resident Marianna Messina, who has lived in the community for 23 years, said the city’s work had been “excellent” as it worked to pump out water that had spilled into the street Saturday and removed a foot-thick layer of sand the water had deposited.
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water → live → sand
But another resident, Kellie Canning, complained the city had not done enough to prevent water damage.
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city → complain → damage
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
