Multi-million dollar mansions left teetering on cliff edge after landslides, but authorities say there's 'no threat'
28 February 2024, 16:17
Several luxury mansions have been left perched on the edge of a cliff after landslides, but authorities have said there is "no imminent threat".
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The three houses, in the city of Dana Point in California, look like they are close to falling over the edge and into the sea.
But city officials have concluded the homes are not in immediate danger.
The landslides swept away huge chunks of the cliff. They came after California was hit with heavy downpours in February.
Read more: Inside Crooked House pub owners' lavish lifestyle - from Dubai holidays to Bentleys
Footage shared online and in US media shows cliff debris falling down and coming to land on the beach below.
Discussing one of the properties, Mike Killebrew, city manager for Dana Point, said: "The city’s geotechnical engineer and a building sector went out to the site to assess the situation, as well as talk with the homeowner who owns the residence and slope where the failure occurred."
He added: "Currently the city has confirmed that there is no imminent threat to that home."
One homeowner, 82-year-old Lewis Bruggeman, said he would be staying put.
“The house is fine, it’s not threatened and it will not be red-tagged,” he told a reporter.
"The city agrees that there’s no major structural issue with the house."
But Kyle Tourjé, who runs an engineering company in Los Angeles, said that the house would need "major, major work" to make it safe.
He said that more rain and landslides would "continue to eat away at the slopes".
The three affected houses are worth $15.9 million (£12.5 million), $14.1 million (£11.2 million) and $12.9 million (£10.2 million).
