Dennis Poulsen, 84, has accused Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson of abandoning oceanfront residents after Tropical Storm Rachel destroyed multimillion-dollar beachfront homes along the city’s peninsula.
Poulsen, who built his Ocean Boulevard mansion 21 years ago, said that “just a little bit of water” seeped inside during last week’s storm. His fury toward city hall, however, ran far deeper than the damage.
“The mayor of Long Beach doesn’t give a damn about this community… His natural constituency is not here and he doesn’t really care,” he said.
The storm’s toll extended well beyond individual property losses. As of last Sunday, at least eight buildings representing 13 addresses were red-tagged as unsafe to enter, while another received a yellow tag allowing residents limited access to retrieve belongings, according to Mayor Richardson.
Natalie Cabrera, 59, had rented a beachfront bungalow on the peninsula for only a year and a half before relentless waves battered her property and damaged its foundation. She told The California Post she discovered water had forced its way underneath the building.
“I don’t want to leave. At all. Ever. This was my dream,” she said.
“The floor is squishy. Because the ocean just kept hitting and hitting my home.”
The destruction arrived amid an already brutal stretch for Southern California’s coastline. Hurricane Marie struck over Labor Day weekend, followed by Hurricane Polo in subsequent weeks, before Tropical Storm Rachel delivered the latest blow.
Robert Wells, 80, whose family has owned a summer home in the area since 1962, told The Post the storm’s destruction was unlike anything he had witnessed across more than six decades.
“It’s never happened like this before,” Wells said.
He directed blame at city officials, claiming a protective sand berm actually worsened the flooding and transformed what could have been minor damage into a major disaster. He also revealed that residents are organizing legal action against the municipality.
“There is a class action lawsuit forming against the city of Long Beach,” he said.
City crews have distributed approximately 15,000 sandbags across three recent storms, including 7,600 during the latest event, according to officials.
Mayor Richardson acknowledged the extraordinary nature of the destruction during remarks last week.
“These kinds of impacts are not normal. They’re unprecedented for our community, and while our crews have been working hard day and night… These continued threats have brought significant damage right to our shoreline’s front door,” he said.
The confrontation between homeowners and the Democratic mayor underscores growing tension along a coastline increasingly vulnerable to intensifying weather patterns, with residents who invested decades in beachfront properties now facing uncertain futures and mounting legal threats against the city they call home.
Long Beach officials continue sandbag distribution and damage assessment as residents brace for further storms.