Water, Flood and Mold Damage Restoration in Newport Beach

On Friday, October 9, 2026, the City of Newport Beach declared a local emergency after high tides and surf from Tropical Storm Rachel pushed seawater over the sand berms on the Balboa Peninsula. City staff estimated fifteen to twenty blocks of flooded streets, water reached homes several blocks back from the beach, and beaches and piers closed. City crews rebuilt berms and ran pumps, and a coastal flood warning stayed in place through Tuesday, October 13. Our Newport Beach flood cleanup guide covers the first forty eight hours step by step.

The geography explains why. A city tidal flooding study based on a 2006 LiDAR survey found that Balboa Island, Little Balboa Island, Newport Island and nearly all of the bay side of the Balboa Peninsula sit below the height of present-day extreme high tides. What keeps them dry is a set of bulkheads, storm drain tide valves and, when it gets bad, sandbags and pumps. The same study put the start of Peninsula and Balboa Island flooding at a tide above about 7.0 feet, and tides near 7.8 feet in 1983 and 2005 both brought reported flooding.

Ownership matters here too. Most of the bulkhead along the Peninsula is private, so whether a given block floods can depend on the lowest wall on it. Balboa Island is ringed by a city-owned bulkhead, and a 2024 city staff report put most Balboa Island streets around 6.5 feet, describing flooding there as an existing coastal hazard rather than a future one. The city now sets new bulkheads to a 10.0 foot standard, which tells you how far the water already reaches.

Water that comes over a bulkhead or up through a street drain is contaminated from the start. It has run across pavement and through storm drains, so it gets handled as a health hazard: containment, extraction, cleaning and disinfection of everything that stays, and only then drying. Carpet, pad, mattresses and soaked upholstered furniture usually cannot be saved. We photograph each item before it leaves the house, because that record is what a flood claim turns on.

Seawater also leaves salt behind in drywall, baseboards and framing. Salt draws moisture back out of the air, so a wall can read dry one week and damp the next. We take readings every day the equipment runs and put them in writing, and we do not pull the equipment until the numbers hold.

A lot of Peninsula property is second homes and vacation rentals, which means water can sit in a unit for days before anyone opens the door. If you manage rentals or own a place you visit on weekends, have every ground-floor unit walked, including the ones that look dry from the entry. Water wicks up walls and spreads under flooring well before it shows.

Before a crew arrives, a few things help. If water reached outlets, appliances or the panel, keep the power off in those rooms. Move what you can off the floor, starting with anything that wicks, like rugs, cardboard and fabric. Peninsula garages off the alleys often take water first and get checked last, so look there too. Photograph every room wide and then close up before anything moves, and keep receipts for sandbags, fans, pumps and any night you spend somewhere else. Residents can pick up free sandbags at the City Corporation Yard at 592 Superior Avenue.

On insurance, FEMA states that standard homeowner policies do not cover flood, and Rachel's seawater is flood. A separate flood policy, through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer, is what normally pays, and many homes here carry one because of their zone. We are not adjusters and do not interpret policies. We document the loss, estimate our own scope, and can bill your carrier directly for our services. We respond anywhere in Orange County and Los Angeles around the clock, and the first inspection is free.