NEWPORT BEACH — A Newport Beach neighborhood was flooded with as much as 2 feet of water Wednesday night after a seawall was damaged by a construction crew, authorities said.
A contractor was doing demolition work at a house in the 500 block of 36th Street on Balboa Peninsula on Wednesday — the time was not given — and accidentally damaged the wall, according to Newport Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Brian McDonough.
When high tide came in about 8:52 p.m., the water rushed through the compromised sea wall and into the neighborhood.
The top 18 to 24 inches of the seawall was damaged by the construction crew, McDonough said. Water made it into just one home, he said, but about 15 to 20 homes in the Finley Avenue neighborhood off 36th Street had water in their yards. Residents were allowed into their homes, he said.
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![Residents float on inner tubes in their Newport Beach neighborhood on Wednesday night, after a broken sea wall sent water flooding into the area. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Snead)]()
Residents float on inner tubes in their Newport Beach neighborhood on Wednesday night, after a broken sea wall sent water flooding into the area. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Snead)
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![An image from KCAL9 shows Newport Beach fire and city crews working in an area where a seawall was compromised in Newport Beach on Wednesday, May 24.]()
An image from KCAL9 shows Newport Beach fire and city crews working in an area where a seawall was compromised in Newport Beach on Wednesday, May 24.
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“The whole neighborhood was out laughing and having a good time,” said resident Stephanie Snead. “People were initially concerned, but it (the flooding) brought the whole neighborhood out.”
Fire and Municipal Operations department crews worked to pump water away from homes and put up sandbags to keep water out of homes, McDonough said.
When the tide lowers, a temporary seawall will be built out of sandbags until a permanent structure can be built, according to McDonough. The low tide is set to be at 3:47 a.m. Thursday, according to AccuWeather.
Snead and other residents said a construction crew tore down the house to the right of 517 36th Street about five or six days ago. That lot, where the seawall was breached, was empty Wednesday night, with a Hill Construction vehicle nearby.
36th Street was closed to traffic between Short Street and Finley Avenues, but has since reopened, McDonough said. Most of the flood water had receded by around 11 p.m.
#BREAKING #NewportBeach neighborhood flooded after seawall is destroyed pic.twitter.com/p2VHRrZz5j
— christina heller (@CHellerTVNews) May 25, 2017