San Clemente is joining a handful of nearby coastal towns declaring a local state of emergency after high tides damaged Orange County’s beaches — causing pieces of shoreline and cliffsides to be swept into the waves.

Leaders for the Spanish Village by the Sea also took emergency action to place sand on North Beach and allow the installation of berms to protect city structures along the coast like bathrooms. That emergency action authorizes funding of up to $1 million.

San Clemente City Council members unanimously approved the actions during their meeting last night, after Orange County’s coastline felt some of the effects of Hurricane Marie over Labor Day weekend.

It also comes after the National Weather Service announced that this year’s El Niño has a 90% chance of bringing a “very strong” weather event, meaning that the coast will likely see stronger storms this winter.

“We need to put sand on North Beach, in my view, to protect the residents for this upcoming emergency we’re going to face over the next year,” Councilmember Victor Cabral, who proposed the emergency sand placement, said at the meeting.

The city saw some damage from recent storms and high tides at the pier, including the loss of a pylon and 17 braces in addition to flooding and damage to private property. The staff report for last night’s city council discussion said that repairs to the pier alone could cost about $300,000.

The staff report also warns that if El Niño conditions persist, San Clemente’s already-eroding beaches could get even worse.

San Clemente’s vote comes after Laguna Beach and Dana Point declared their own local emergencies last week.

Six homes in Laguna Beach were yellow-tagged, meaning that the structure has restricted entry, because of damage to the sea wall. 

In Dana Point, nine homes were red-tagged — or deemed unsafe to inhabit — and seven were yellow-tagged after the storms’ high swells damaged the properties.

[Read: OC Beach Cities Declare States of Emergency After High Tides Batter Coast]

The San Clemente City Council’s emergency proclamation also requested that the Orange County Board of Supervisors proclaim an emergency at the county level.

Proclaiming an emergency helps cities get mutual aid from state agencies and speeds up action to address the issue.

San Clemente leaders are continuing to prioritize sand placement after decades of erosion have dwindled the coastline.

[Read: Who Should Take the Lead on Saving OC’s Disappearing Beaches?]

“The storms in the wintertime tend to come from the north, and we could have a lot of erosion of our beaches, so we need to be prepared for that,” City Manager Andy Hall said at the meeting. 

“One of the things we want to do is at least put some berming up around some of our more vulnerable structures, like the restrooms at North Beach, perhaps even watch very closely what’s happening with lifeguard headquarters,” Hall said. 

Councilmember Cabral said the city has an obligation to address this issue ahead of more bad weather coming.

“We know there’s an El Niño coming,” he said. “This isn’t a permanent solution, but I think we have an opportunity to do something in the short term to make sure they weather the storm and get through this and save their homes.”

Leaders stressed that they have an opportunity to prepare.

“The unique thing about this is that we can see the emergency coming,” Councilmember Mark Enmeier said at the meeting. 

“When you know there’s a hurricane coming, you put out sandbags to protect your houses and your streets as much as you can. We as a city have to do everything now so we aren’t on the backend of this emergency later.”

Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.