Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency Monday, Sept. 21, clearing the way for fast-tracked seawall repairs and beach replenishment along Newport Beach's already-battered coastline.

The proclamation, issued ahead of what state officials called a potentially "historic" El Niño season, allows state agencies to bypass normal permitting timelines for shoreline protection work. It also pre-positions flood-fighting supplies like sandbags and water pumps and prepares the California National Guard for disaster relief, Patch reported.

National meteorologists have warned there is a greater than 90% chance this El Niño becomes "a very strong event" and a 75% chance it reaches "historic strength," according to the governor's office.

Newport Beach already exposed

The declaration lands as Newport Beach's shoreline is still recovering from Hurricane Marie, which hit Southern California earlier in September. City crews built protective berms on both sides of Balboa Pier using roughly 200,000 cubic yards of sand. A small sewer line near Corona del Mar State Beach broke during the high surf, and eyewitness accounts showed severe sand erosion at Balboa Pier and The Wedge.

The fast-track permitting could matter most at The Wedge. Newport Beach Public Works Director Dave Webb said in June that adding a sand nourishment project there would require new permitting through regulatory agencies, along with funding and other hurdles, the OC Register reported. Newsom's order could shorten that timeline.

Kelvin wave approaching

A coastally trapped Kelvin wave moving north along Mexico could reach the Southern California coast in early October and raise sea levels by 6 to 12 inches, according to Dillon Amaya, an assistant professor of marine and atmospheric sciences at North Carolina State University. Amaya told Patch that beaches stripped by Hurricane Marie leave the coast more vulnerable. "Certainly more beach erosion is on the table," he said.

Mark Merrifield of UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography said California could see some of the highest sea levels ever recorded along its coast during this El Niño. He said elevated sea levels typically peak around November and December, with January through March considered the prime season for impacts, Patch reported.

Orange County declared its own emergency

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, whose District 5 includes Newport Beach, called for a county-level emergency declaration on Sept. 15 after coastal damage in Newport Beach, Dana Point, Laguna Beach and San Clemente. The Board of Supervisors declared a local state of emergency on Sept. 17.

"We need to act with urgency, help our cities recover, streamline permits to get sand back on our beaches, and prepare now for the Kelvin Wave and El Niño," Foley said in a Sept. 15 statement.

Assemblywoman Laurie Davies led a separate letter from Orange County and Long Beach legislators asking Newsom for the state declaration, citing damage to homes and infrastructure.

No public statement from Newport Beach city officials responding to Newsom's declaration appeared in available records as of Sept. 22.

Surfrider Foundation Executive Director Chad Nelsen called the governor's action "a good start" but said it "should not be the end all," urging longer-term coastal resilience planning, the OC Register reported. The Kelvin wave could arrive as soon as early October.