Drone video shows California cliff eroding after atmospheric river pounds Santa Barbara area
The erosion came after Southern California had seen days of excessive rain due to a powerful atmospheric river slamming the region.
Drone video shows apartment units hanging after cliff erodes
Santa Barbara County official shot drone video of where a cliff began to erode in Isla Vista, California, on Tuesday.
ISLA VISTA, Calif. – Several dozen people were evacuated in Isla Vista, California, on Tuesday after the cliff underneath their homes began to erode.
Drone video captured by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department showed walkways near homes hanging off the cliff.
Caution tape marked off additional areas that could soon fall, and piles of rocks were shown underneath the bluff.
Watch: Walkways hang off cliff after bluff erodes beneath them
Santa Barbara County officials were forced to evacuate several dozen on Tuesday after a bluff beneath their homes began to erode.
Officials said they were forced to evacuate four apartment units nearby.
"Approx. 45+ people displaced due to cliff/bluff erosion," Santa Barbara County PIO Scott Safechuck wrote on X.
![]()
Image 1 of 5Caution tape marks off the area where a walkway could soon fall from the cliff. (SBCFireInfo/X)
![]()
Image 2 of 5Santa Barbara County officials were forced to evacuate several dozen on Tuesday after a bluff beneath their homes began to erode. ( @SBCFireInfo/X)
![]()
Image 3 of 5A look where part of the walkway has already fallen off. (SBCFireInfo/X)
![]()
Image 4 of 5Santa Barbara County official shot drone video of where a cliff began to erode in Isla Vista, California, on Tuesday. ( @SBCFireInfo/X)
![]()
Image 5 of 5Caution tape marks off the area where a walkway could soon fall from the cliff. (SBCFireInfo/X)
The erosion came after Southern California had seen days of excessive rain due to a powerful atmospheric river slamming the region.
Santa Barbara was put in a bull’s-eye by the Weather Prediction Center on Sunday for a "high-risk" threat of excessive rain and flooding. The local airport recorded 2.39 inches on Sunday, blowing the previous record out of the water set in 1990 of 0.50 inches.
The rain and strong winds from the atmospheric river are expected to wind down on Wednesday, but flooding and beach erosion are still possible due to the saturated soil.
(FOX Weather)