Long Beach California, Tropical Storm Rachel, 2026 Experience

According to a CNN & CNN Climate post shared on Instagram, October 11, 2026, “Homes in Long Beach were heavily damaged in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Rachel”. As I glossed over the newer comments under the same post at the time of drafting this article, I gather that these homes, and the Long Beach area in extension, are owned by the affluent.

With me intensely scrutinizing the scenes in the CNN post, as well as those captured and shared by The Associated Press, I’m left stunned at just how close the homes are to the coastline; and how much the sea waves (in height & frequency), are crashing into the same homes.

Could it be that Long Beach doesn’t have a history of experiencing high tides, hurricanes, and storms that can produce these wave swells, why the reality of the homes so close to the coastline with very minimal tide defense, are what it is?

As EBSCO states: “…since the city’s coast faces directly south, Long Beach receives almost none of the waves that make neighboring areas like Huntington Beach popular among surfers and tourists.”

Combined with this source, my observation of the Google Map of Long Beach, highlight that it’s in a Bay (factor that contributes to lower tides and coastline erosion naturally), and has a Sea Wall as a secondary/Man-Made defense. Additionally, according to KTLA 2023 article (A Look At California’s Brief History with Hurricanes and Tropical Storms), Long Beach last experienced a Tropical Storm in 1939-the only tropical storm to make landfall in California in the 20th Century.

This is an 80+ year return period for a tropical storm and/or hurricane to make landfall. These factors combined (natural & engineered), are good explanations behind why homes in Long Beach may have been approved to be constructed where they were/are.

What Is The Reality of Home Insurance Coverage in Long Beach, California?

Given a low risk history of Tropical Storms & Hurricanes being experienced in Long Beach, let’s take a look into the home insurance coverage available. According to Google AI, standard home insurance policy in Long Beach covers (non-exhaustive):

• Dwelling Coverage: Repairs or rebuilds to the physical structure of your house if damaged by covered events like fire, wind or vandalism.

What standard policies exclude-according to Google AI (non-exhaustive):

• Earthquake Protection.
• Floods & Groundwater.

So as we can see, the general standard coverage of home insurance, does not include floods and associated hazards (such as Storm Surges) that generally come with Tropical Storms & Hurricanes when passing over the coastline.

Given The Passing of Tropical Storm Rachel Can This Trigger Home Insurance Rates Increase in Long Beach?

According to a January, 2026 article by The zebra: “The average homeowners policy cost 72 USD per month in Long Beach, California. This is less than the average American monthly home insurance payment”. If we’re to look into this policy rate within the context of insurance risk, Long Beach can be classified as a low risk area. Now in terms of Tropical Storm Rachel functioning as the trigger/catalyst for an increase in insurance rates, it’s too soon to give a definitive answer.

This event could be seen as a normal 1 in 80+ year tropical storm event, hence, this 2026 experience is not a strong indicator of Long Beach experiencing an increased frequency and consequently an increased risk profile mirrored by a hike in home insurance premiums.

On the flip, if this 2026 Tropical Storm experience of Long Beach should be viewed within the context of Climate Change and it’s effects on weather patterns/systems of El Nino as an example, being more of a norm over the next 5-10 years, then this could be prove to be strong factor that can push the risk profile increase of Long Beach, California, and its associated home insurance policy rates.

Let’s Wait & See.