Same Floods, Different Decades. Newport's 100-Year Battle to Stay Dry.

Published November 2, 2026

Workers manage floodwaters with hoses and equipment near a building as waves crash around them.

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NEWPORT BEACH | SURF & COAST | NOVEMBER 2, 2026

If you live on the Balboa Peninsula, you’ve seen the routine: the tide rises, the pumps start, sandbags come out, and City Hall tells everybody to prepare. Again.

This isn’t a new problem. Newport has been trying to keep the ocean out since at least 1912, when crews built seawalls along the Point. The city added sand in the 1930s and began building seasonal protective berms in the 1970s.

And the ocean kept its appointment.

In 1939, a tropical storm sent huge surf into Newport, destroying much of Balboa Pier and half of Newport Pier. During the brutal winter of 1983, locals remembered water crossing the Peninsula and kayakers on Balboa Boulevard.

The city’s flood history also records major events in 1969, 1978, 1980, 1992, 1995, 1998 and 2005.

Then came one of Newport’s more remarkable flood-control decisions.

In 1997, the city built a nine-foot sand berm ahead of El Niño storms. Some beachfront homeowners complained it blocked the view. According to the Los Angeles Times, the city shaved down part of the berm.

Nothing says coastal preparedness quite like asking the ocean to respect the sightlines.

In December 2010, an eight-foot-plus storm tide pushed harbor water into the Fun Zone and nearby streets. Officials were already discussing how to strengthen aging seawalls.

In July 2020, surf overtopped defenses and flooded streets three blocks inland.

So why isn’t this fixed?

It isn’t true that Newport has done nothing. The city raised public Balboa Island seawalls with a nine-inch cap in 2017–18, maintains pumps and tide gates, and regularly rebuilds beach berms.

But those measures don’t add up to a permanent, Peninsula-wide barrier. Some waterfront walls are privately owned, and replacing them is expensive.

The city’s Harbor and Beaches Master Plan lists future bulkhead work and a 62-valve tide-gate program.

A spreadsheet, however, is not a seawall.

After October 2026, locals deserve a public map of vulnerable spots, funded permanent projects, deadlines and who’s paying.

We’ve had more than a century of practice.

City Hall should be able to show us the game plan.

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Same Floods, Different Decades. Newport’s 100-Year Battle to Stay Dry.

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