As more rain is headed our way this holiday weekend, it's worrisome for those still dealing with damage from the previous storms. Dr. Pat Abbott is a geology professor at San Diego State University. He says we need to keep an eye on our coastline and cliffs.
"These are the times of the greatest attack of waves on the sea cliffs," said Dr. Abbott. "Each of these storms takes more sand off the beaches. Which makes it easier for waves to come in and hit the cliffs. So they don't come in once and get repaired by sand or something, you just keep hammering away at them."
And as more rain soaks our fragile cliffs, we get closer to landslides. The stairs at Stonesteps Beach in Encinitas are now closed because of the ongoing rainfall. The storm also creates a big risk for the Del Mar train tracks.
"They've been doing a lot of I'm going to call it bandaid repair work to repair the cliffs some. I'm not saying they're not doing a good job. But nonetheless you're fighting the inevitable," said Dr. Abbott. "Mother Nature is going to win this. Gravity will prevail at some time. We just have to hope it's not going to occur while we still have the train tracks there."
And that's not the only risk of the coming storm. Video shows Elliott Dilts standing in the door to his backyard, as a storm flooded it on New Year's Day. This water damage opened a sinkhole.
"Right now it's about five by twelve feet," said Dilts.
With more rain on the way, he's worried the sinkhole will only get bigger.
"Both of these houses could get in some serious damage with the foundation cracking," said Dilts. "Because if it gets wider and wider the water is still eventually going out somewhere. So all this dirt is still getting washed out somewhere underneath."
