Using a drone, AP's Jae C. Hong frames Long Beach's waves crashing into oceanfront homes

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Cite

Hong, J. C. (2026, October 19). Using a drone, AP's Jae C. Hong frames Long Beach's waves crashing into oceanfront homes. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/united-states/using-a-drone-ap-s-jae-c-hong-frames-long-beach-s-waves-crashing-into-oceanfront-homes/article_3b3e14bb-7e78-59ad-aa87-b086db256b2c.html

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

Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-19 · by Jae C. Hong

Quick Summary

Jae C. Hong, an AP photojournalist based in Los Angeles, captured dramatic images of powerful waves crashing into oceanfront homes in Long Beach, California. The photos were taken on a Monday when the strongest waves from Tropical Storm Rachel’s remnants were expected to subside. Using a drone, Hong was able to get close-up shots that emphasized the vulnerability of the homes and the height of the waves, showcasing nature's destructive power over several days.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-19, 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

On October 9, 2026, unusually high surf caused by El Niño and Tropical Storm Rachel washed away Long Beach's boardwalk and sand beach, flooding several coastal homes. Shawn Curtis's two-story apartment building was severely damaged; water entered up to the second floor, causing significant structural damage. The mayor, Rex Richardson, acknowledged that the city’s infrastructure is not equipped for such extreme weather events but did not address long-term solutions. Furious homeowners like Dennis Poulsen claim their properties worth millions are being swallowed by the sea and criticize Mayor Richardson for failing to adequately protect them. Hong's drone footage from October 19 captured waves crashing into oceanfront homes, highlighting the urgent need for coastal resilience measures in face of rapid climate change.

Written for “California Homes Swallowed By Sea” on 2026-10-19, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 California Homes Swallowed By Sea
Environment · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
‘The house was toast’: Surf swallows California homes same event · 95%
NBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 10% hedged 7 of 69 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles describe powerful waves crashing into oceanfront homes in Long Beach on the same day and context.”
Furious luxury homeowners whose million-dollar properties are being swallowed into the California sea slam Democrat mayor for failing to fix major problems: 'He doesn't give a damn' different event · 85%
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 8% hedged 4 of 50 📰 publisher trust 64
“The articles describe related events but likely not the exact same occurrence: one focuses on homeowner reactions and criticism of local officials, while the other describes a photojournalist capturing images of waves crashing into homes due to Tropical Storm Rachel.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
14
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Toronto Star'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 2026-10-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 23 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Jae C. Hong
2 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Monday was expected to be one of the last days of the strongest waves generated by the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel, so I decided to go see this for myself.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · Using a drone, AP's Jae C. Hong frames Long Beach's waves crashing into oceanfront homes
Also by Jae C. Hong
A long-awaited homecoming for the USS Lincoln crew, in photos
2026-10-08 · Toronto Star
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

California LONG BEACH Los Angeles The Associated Press Tropical Storm Rachel

Subjects

California GPE · 2× LONG BEACH GPE · 2× Hong PERSON · 1× Jae C. Hong PERSON · 1× Los Angeles GPE · 1× The Associated Press ORG · 1×

Narrative

Rather than just shooting from high above and looking down at the ocean, I wanted to get as close to ground level as possible to show the height of the waves as they smashed into the homes.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-19
🔮 Monday was expected to be one of the last days of the strongest waves generated by the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel, so I decided to go see this for myself.
2026-10-19 · Toronto Star
Using a drone, AP's Jae C. Hong frames Long Beach's waves crashing into oceanfront homes · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 0 hedged)

Jae C. Hong is a staff photojournalist based in Los Angeles and has worked for The Associated Press since 2007. asserted
Hong → base → 2007
Here’s what Hong had to say about how he captured this extraordinary photo: asserted
he → ’ → photo
Why I shot this photo asserted
I → shoot → photo
I had been following news reports for several days about powerful waves hitting beachfront homes in Long Beach, California, and the damage seemed to be getting worse. asserted
damage → follow → Beach
Monday was expected to be one of the last days of the strongest waves generated by the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel, so I decided to go see this for myself. asserted
I → expect → myself
The waves had been pounding these homes for days, washing away sand and threatening their foundations. asserted
waves → pound → foundations
I was struck by how little protection seemed to remain between the homes and the ocean. asserted
protection → strike → homes
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW asserted
ARTICLE → continue → ?
How I made this photo I used a drone because it was the only way to get the perspective I wanted. asserted
I → make → perspective
Rather than just shooting from high above and looking down at the ocean, I wanted to get as close to ground level as possible to show the height of the waves as they smashed into the homes. asserted
they → shoot → homes
At the same time, I had to keep a safe distance from the crashing waves and ocean spray to avoid losing the drone to the sea. asserted
I → have → sea
Why it works I think this photo shows the power of nature and what happens when waves keep pounding the same place over time. asserted
waves → work → time
These weren’t necessarily the biggest waves, but the damage they caused after days of relentless pounding was striking. asserted
they → cause → pounding
Shooting from roughly the same level as the homes helped to convey the height of the waves and just how vulnerable the buildings had become. asserted
buildings → shoot → waves
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