California's iconic Pacific Coast Highway teeters on the edge of falling into the sea after a terrifying crack appears in cliffside after storm

Read the original at Daily Mail ↗
Cite

Guzman, A. (2026, October 18). California's iconic Pacific Coast Highway teeters on the edge of falling into the sea after a terrifying crack appears in cliffside after storm. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16209249/pacific-coast-highway-california-crack-dangerous.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-18 · by Alyssa Guzman

Quick Summary

A significant crack has appeared under California's Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) near Laguna Beach, raising fears of a potential landslide and necessitating the closure of one lane indefinitely. The crack emerged after Tropical Storm Rachel and persistent harsh waves battered the coastline, causing damage to cliffs and homes along the coast. Caltrans is evaluating the situation with drone footage and surveys but has not set an expected reopening date for the closed lane beyond "a few days." Celebrity residents in the area are concerned about the stability of the highway above their properties.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-18, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

A massive crack near Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Laguna Beach, California, has raised fears that a section of one of Southern California’s iconic coastal roads could collapse into the ocean. The crack was discovered after weeks of heavy surf, high tides, and hurricane-driven swells caused severe erosion along the coastline. Caltrans closed one southbound lane on PCH from Irvine Cove to Reef Point Drive for emergency repairs near El Morro.

Laguna Beach local Blair Conklin captured the damage in a YouTube video, noting that the situation was worsening faster than expected. The crack runs under the highway, with water visibly eroding the cliffside beneath it. Caltrans is constructing rock slope protection along PCH to prevent further erosion and protect the road from potential landslides.

In response to the threat posed by El Niño conditions, crews are also working on similar protective measures in Malibu, where a section of Highway 1 washed out due to recent storms. This ongoing work highlights the urgent need for coastal infrastructure improvements as climate change exacerbates erosion risks along California’s coastlines.

Written for “Pacific Coast Highway Crack Crisis” on 2026-10-18, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 88846 · logged 2026-10-18

Story

📰 Pacific Coast Highway Crack Crisis
Environment · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 24% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Huge crack spotted next to PCH in elite California beach town: ‘Escalating quicker’ same event · 95%
New York Post · 0.89 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 19% hedged 3 of 16 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe the same massive crack appearing near Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, California, causing lane closures and raising concerns about structural integrity.”
Crews race to repair PCH after section of highway washed out by storms same event · 95%
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 2 of 22 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe the same incident of a section of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu being damaged by storms and requiring emergency repairs.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
24%
6 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 6093 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)
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Clarifications and corrections

Who wrote this

Alyssa Guzman
31 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 It is unclear when the lane will reopen, but it is expected to be longer than a few days.
2026-10-18 · mixed framing · California's iconic Pacific Coast Highway teeters on the edge of falling into the sea after a terrifying crack appears in cliffside after storm
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🔮 The controversy around the road closure will be put to voters next month with a new measure called Proposition G. If passed, it will restore vehicles to the road on weekdays.
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Topics

CBS News Caltrans Laguna Beach Surfer Tropical Storm Rachel

Subjects

Laguna Beach GPE · 8× Caltrans ORG · 5× Surfer ORG · 3× CBS News ORG · 2× California GPE · 2× Long Beach GPE · 2× Newport Beach GPE · 2× the Daily Mail ORG · 2× Irvine Cove GPE · 1× the California Department of Transportation ORG · 1×

Narrative

A deep crack appeared in the cliffside under the Pacific Coast Highway near Laguna Beach on Tuesday The crack is located between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach The crack is located between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, ritzy areas where celebrities like late Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa and Shark Tank's Mark Cuban have homes.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 It is unclear when the lane will reopen, but it is expected to be longer than a few days.
2026-10-18 · Daily Mail
California's iconic Pacific Coast Highway teeters on the edge of falling into the sea after a terrifying crack appears in cliffside after storm · mixed framing

Claims (25 extracted, 6 hedged)

California's most famous highway is in need of emergency repairs after a large crack appeared in the cliffside underneath the roadway, raising concerns about a landslide. asserted
crack → appear → landslide
The deep crack was spotted along the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) between El Morro Canyon and Irvine Cove on Tuesday. asserted
crack → spot → Tuesday
The crack appears to end right near the border of the cliffside and the PCH, causing the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to shut down the right to traffic to protect drivers, CBS News reported. asserted
News → appear → drivers
It is unclear when the lane will reopen, but it is expected to be longer than a few days. uncertain
it → reopen → days
'Stabilizing a coastal slope is complex,' Laguna Beach Communications Manager Laura Ezzell told CBS News. asserted
Ezzell → stabilize → News
'Residents should plan for the lane closure to last well beyond the next few days.' Although the crack lies outside of Laguna Beach's jurisdiction, officials are keeping a close eye on the development, as it may affect residents. uncertain
it → last → residents
Caltrans told the Daily Mail that the lane closure will remain in effect until 'repairs are complete. asserted
repairs → tell → effect
'We are currently coordinating with our partners to evaluate current conditions. asserted
We → coordinate → conditions
Caltrans is reviewing updated surveys and drone footage to determine the most effective path forward,' the spokesperson said. asserted
spokesperson → review → path
A deep crack appeared in the cliffside under the Pacific Coast Highway near Laguna Beach on Tuesday The crack is located between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach The crack is located between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, ritzy areas where celebrities like late Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa and Shark Tank's Mark Cuban have homes. asserted
celebrities → appear → homes
It's now causing concerns that it could trigger a landslide, as pieces of dirt have been seen falling into the crashing waters below. uncertain
pieces → cause → waters
'The cliff side right here this close to PCH is falling… that’s why all this water is so brown,' Laguna Beach resident, Blair Conklin, told Surfer. asserted
Conklin → fall → Surfer
'My guess is because the cliff is eroding so bad… it might be at risk of having part of PCH crumble into the ocean. uncertain
part → erode → ocean
The crack is believed to have been caused by the bad weather brought on by Tropical Storm Rachel over the weekend and months of powerful waves. asserted
crack → believe → waves
Just 40 miles up the coast, the tropical storm battered waterfront properties in Long Beach over the weekend, causing some homes to crash into the sea. asserted
homes → batter → sea
The storm tore away at least 30 feet of boardwalk, and flooded coastal towns and cities, including Laguna Beach. asserted
storm → tear → Beach
Roughly 15- to 20-foot backwash waves breached seawalls and sand dunes, according to Surfer. uncertain
waves → breach → Surfer
Just 40 miles up the coast, the tropical storm battered waterfront properties in Long Beach over the weekend The crack is believed to have formed due to harsh waves in the area in recent months. asserted
crack → batter → months
Pictured: Waves hitting a barrier in Laguna Beach during Tropical Storm Rachel last weekend Laguna Beach was flooded after Tropical Storm Rachel 'The ocean is literally in the city right now. asserted
ocean → picture → city
I’ve never seen water push this far up into Laguna in my life,' Chris Monroe, who documents things on his YouTube page, said, according to Surfer. uncertain
who → see → Surfer
The destructive weather was a combination of the high tides, historic surge and tropical storm surge, officials stated. asserted
officials → state → tides
As the El Niño continues to strengthen, other parts of California's coastal line are preparing for a horrific storm season. asserted
parts → continue → season
Caltrans is working to place boulders along State Route 1 in Ventura County to help fortify the roadway. asserted
Caltrans → work → roadway
California State Parks also temporarily closed parts of Crystal Cove State Park and San Onofre State Beach due to high surf damage and coastal erosion, KTLA reported. asserted
KTLA → close → damage
The Daily Mail has reached out to Caltrans for comment. asserted
Mail → reach → comment
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