Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Tuesday, Oct. 27, creating a state task force to protect the Pacific Coast Highway and coastal communities from El Niño storm damage.

The order lands as Santa Monica sits under a National Weather Service coastal flood advisory through 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, with water levels running more than a foot above normal projections, according to the Santa Monica Mirror. The city has 85 properties in the northern section of PCH within the 100-year flood zone, city spokesperson Cecile Oreste told Patch earlier this month.

Newsom signed the order at Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Beach, where coastal erosion and a major bluff crack elsewhere in the park already illustrate the threat, according to the governor's office.

The order creates a Highway 1 Task Force, led by the California State Transportation Agency and the California Natural Resources Agency. The task force will identify vulnerable stretches of the highway, recommend priority actions and funding needs, and look for ways to speed up preventive work. The order also directs Caltrans to prioritize landslide prevention and State Parks to assess how closures and repairs could affect public access.

Newsom also signed a second executive order the same day, building on his September emergency proclamation related to El Niño. That order gives agencies additional tools to reduce flood risks and protect critical infrastructure statewide.

The price tag for inaction is steep. Emergency project spending on the Big Sur Highway 1 corridor alone totaled roughly $312 million from 2020 through 2026, according to the governor's office.

"El Niño is nothing new for California but this year's conditions are super-charged by an alarming marine heat wave off our coast that has already raised sea levels by a full foot," California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot said in the governor's announcement.

El Niño is not expected to peak until late November, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as CBS News Los Angeles reported. But Southern California is already feeling the effects. In Newport Beach on Monday, Oct. 26, a tidal gauge registered 8.3 feet, which resident Bill Sharp called unprecedented for the Balboa Peninsula, KTLA reported.

Closer to home, low-lying beach lots, coastal bike trails and pedestrian paths from Malibu through Venice and Santa Monica to Playa del Rey face pooling water during peak morning tide cycles, the Mirror reported. The NWS warned that moderate to significant beach erosion is likely.

Oreste told Patch that the city is engaged in storm preparedness with "heightened awareness that there could be increased coastal storm activity and more intense rainfall." She encouraged residents in the northern PCH flood zone to prepare before rain enters the forecast.

Santa Monica residents can pick up 10 empty sandbags at any city fire station. Free sand for filling them is available at the Clover Park parking lot, and filled sandbags are available at City Yards during business hours, according to Patch's earlier reporting. The city also recommends that residents in flood-risk zones consider purchasing flood insurance, since flood damage is not covered by standard homeowners policies.

According to the governor's office, Caltrans is prepositioning storm-response equipment at more than 120 maintenance yards statewide, with about 1,300 pieces of winter operations equipment ready for deployment. Crews across all 12 Caltrans districts are prepared to shift to 12-hour emergency shifts when storms hit.

High astronomical tides are expected around Thanksgiving and Christmas, which could put further pressure on beaches and infrastructure already weakened by repeated flooding, KTLA reported.