California beach city’s massive deadly wave defenses caught being built in wild video

Long Beach is building up a giant wall of sand to defend against rising ocean tides as massive waves continue to pound the California coast.

Video footage captured crews using heavy equipment to build up protective sand berms along the shoreline as powerful surf generated by Hurricane Genevieve rolled toward Southern California.

Waves can be seen crashing into the beach and quickly eating away at the freshly piled sand, forcing workers to continually rebuild.

The emergency preparations come as Genevieve, a powerful Category 4 hurricane spinning far off the coast in the Eastern Pacific, sends larger-than-normal swells toward the SoCal coast.

To stay ahead of incoming water, Long Beach crews are reinforcing sand berms along the Peninsula, deploying overnight teams to monitor conditions and placing plywood barriers in flood-prone sections of the beachfront boardwalk, according to the Long Beach Post.

Marine Safety Chief Gonzalo Medina told the outlet that the city is following its usual storm-preparation plan but acknowledged that the ocean always has the final say.

“Mother Nature is highly unpredictable, especially at sea,” Medina said.

The biggest concern is a stretch of beachfront homes between 62nd and 69th Place on the Peninsula, an area especially vulnerable because swells can slip through an opening near the breakwater and Alamitos Bay entrance.

Crews spent Wednesday morning rebuilding about 40 yards of the protective berm after overnight surf punched through part of the barrier and knocked down sections of plywood installed to shield nearby properties.

While officials say this week’s tides aren’t expected to be as intense as several earlier events this summer, they remain concerned about repeated flooding caused by increasingly frequent high tides. Scientists have linked higher ocean levels and stronger tidal flooding to El Niño conditions, which can push water levels beyond normal forecasts.

Despite the dramatic surf, authorities say Long Beach’s offshore breakwater and nearby Catalina Island help absorb much of the incoming wave energy, reducing the impact along the city’s beaches.

Even so, lifeguards are warning beachgoers not to let calm-looking water fool them.

Los Angeles County lifeguards carried out nearly 2,000 ocean rescues during last weekend’s heat wave, when thousands packed local beaches despite hazardous conditions.

Officials are urging swimmers to stay near staffed lifeguard towers, watch children closely and never turn their backs on the ocean. Anyone caught in a rip current should remain calm, float and swim parallel to shore until they’re out of the current’s pull.