If you live in or own property in the land movement area, this page gathers every program, contact, and protection in one place. Programs change — verify current status with the linked agency before acting.
Life-threatening emergency: call 911. · Alerts: text ALERTRPV to 888-777 (Alert SouthBay). · Evacuation zones: PVPready.gov. · Crisis counseling: Disaster Distress Helpline, 1-800-985-5990 (free, 24/7).
Utilities in parts of the slide area were shut off for safety during the 2024 acceleration. With movement now minimal in several neighborhoods, restoration is underway where conditions allow — though gas service to the Portuguese Bend community remains suspended without a restoration timeline, and many households in the hardest-hit areas still run on solar and propane (the City offers expedited permitting for both). Each utility maintains a dedicated landslide-area page:
Power was cut to about 245 homes in Portuguese Bend and Seaview in September 2024. Service has since been restored in Seaview and the Portuguese Bend Beach Club; the Portuguese Bend Community Association area remains de-energized (homes run on solar and generators), and the City is pressing SCE for a re-energization discussion (City Manager letter, Aug. 26, 2026) — with complex-wide average movement now below SCE's ~1 in/week threshold per the August survey (0.99 in/week; though Abalone Cove remains above it at 1.29), a staff-level meeting is expected in September. Going without grid power isn't cheap for the response either: generators for the dewatering wells run about $53,000 a month, plus ~$12,000 a month for the area's sewer system. Separately, SCE's tension-relief construction (September 2026 – Q2 2027, starting in the Rolling Hills area) will bring planned outages and traffic delays — it does not change anyone's re-energization status; sign up for outage alerts at sce.com/outage.
energized.edison.com/rpv →Gas was shut off to Portuguese Bend (July 2024) and later Seaview. SoCalGas has upgraded and tested infrastructure in Seaview and restores service to homes that request it as areas stabilize.
socalgas.com/RPV →After repeated breaks in buried mains and service lines (whose leaks also fed water into the slide), Cal Water rebuilt much of the system above ground in 2024 — the mains and flexible swing joints visible along roadways in Portuguese Bend, western Seaview, and along PV Drive South — so leaks are spotted fast and lines can be realigned as the land moves. Crews continue monitoring, and post landslide-specific service updates.
calwater.com/rpv →One picture of the whole situation — the four slides, the dewatering wells, the 2024 utility-shutoff neighborhoods (also home to the buyout properties), and the landmarks referenced throughout this guide.
About this map: Schematic and approximate — for orientation, not parcel-level decisions. The hatched areas show the neighborhoods where 2024 utility shutoffs occurred and where the voluntary buyout homes are located; individual buyout addresses are not published by the City, FEMA, or Cal OES, to protect applicants' privacy. For authoritative maps, see the City's survey maps and the full Maps & Data page.
| Program | What it offers | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Voluntary Property Buyout Program | FEMA/Cal OES-funded purchase of damaged homes at fair market value based on pre-disaster (Dec. 1, 2022) appraisals; FEMA pays 75% and owners effectively contribute 25% via a reduced payment. 27 homes selected from 85 eligible applications — 22 in Round 1 ($42M) and 5 in Round 2 ($10.16M). A Round 3 application ($19M, roughly 8 more homes) has been submitted and awaits FEMA's decision. FEMA's July 2026 Cumulative Final Public Notice (as posted by the City) separately describes a broader proposal covering up to 45 properties across the three affected neighborhoods — a proposed package total, not homes currently selected. Consultant Black & Veatch administers the program. Selected addresses are not published, to protect applicants' privacy. | Applications closed Nov. 8, 2024 — none currently accepted. No purchases have begun: the program is in FEMA's pre-award phase (City answered a federal request for information in May 2026; no award timeline). If the City hasn't contacted you about an appraisal, your property is not among the 27. Note for selected owners: the wait carries real financial risk — homes in active foreclosure proceedings are ineligible, and reporting has documented selected owners struggling to keep mortgages current on unlivable homes while awaiting funds (LAist, Dec. 2025). If you're falling behind, contact your lender early and in writing about forbearance or loan modification, and consider a free HUD-approved housing counselor. Follow our updates and the City's page. |
| Financial Assistance Grant Program | City emergency grants up to $10,000 per eligible property owner for critical expenses; $2.2M distributed to 223 applicants from a $2.8M fund. | Closed June 30, 2025. Documented here in case future rounds open. |
| SBA Disaster Loans | Low-interest federal loans for homeowners, renters, and businesses with disaster losses. | The 2024 property-damage application window closed; new declarations can reopen eligibility. |
| Abatement district assessments | Properties in ACLAD/KCLAD (and a potential future Portuguese Bend GHAD) pay assessments that fund dewatering and drainage benefiting those properties. | Ongoing; a third district covering Portuguese Bend is under Council discussion in 2026. |
The L.A. County Assessor proactively reassessed properties that were red- or yellow-tagged due to land movement — owners receive a Notice of Assessed Value Change and adjusted tax bill without needing to apply.
Owners with damage can also file for:
Standard homeowners policies in California exclude earth movement — cracking, sinking, shifting, or expanding land — and the California FAIR Plan does not cover landslide either. Some owners carry specialty difference-in-conditions policies that can include landslide coverage, but the City describes them as nearly impossible to find in Southern California; talk to a licensed broker about availability in the moratorium area. (In a September 2024 city survey of 62 landslide-area residents, none had land-movement coverage.)
Change may be coming: on September 1, 2026 the City Council approved formally asking state legislators and the Insurance Commissioner to create a state-backed landslide insurance program modeled on the California Earthquake Authority / FAIR Plan, and is recruiting other landslide-affected communities to join the push. For the clearest plain-English explanation of how such a program would work — and why a city-run insurance pool isn't legally possible — read LAist's explainer; track progress in Latest Updates.
There is movement on this front: after a staff review found a city-run insurance pool (Joint Powers Authority) not legally viable for private residential coverage, on September 1, 2026 the City Council approved formally asking state legislators and the Insurance Commissioner to create a CEA/FAIR Plan-style program for basic landslide coverage. The city is recruiting other slide-prone coastal cities (reporting names Dana Point, Malibu, Laguna Beach, and San Clemente) and plans to reach Sacramento by year's end — driven by a stark fact from the city's 2024 survey: zero responding residents in the landslide area had landslide insurance (LAist). Nothing exists yet — track it in our updates.
If you have a claim dispute, the California Department of Insurance (1-800-927-4357) assists consumers.
In September 2024 the City adopted an urgency ordinance streamlining approvals for homeowners to stabilize and re-level houses in the landslide area — leveling systems, alternative foundations such as I-beams and cargo-structure supports, and temporary modular housing and storage during repairs. On August 4, 2026, the Council renewed it through December 31, 2028.
California law requires sellers to disclose known material defects and natural hazards — and the landslide zone involves specific disclosures (moratorium area, abatement district assessments, tagged-structure history, utility status). Both sides of any transaction here should work with professionals experienced in the Peninsula and review the City's landslide records for the specific parcel.
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