Residents of a wealthy coastal area in Malibu, California, were ordered to evacuate on Wednesday after a large sinkhole opened on the driveway of a beachfront home owned by actor Nicolas Cage. The 60-foot-wide crater appeared Tuesday amid heavy surf generated by the remnants of Hurricane Marie, which slammed the Southern California coastline with significant wave activity.

The sinkhole, estimated to be approximately 25 feet deep by Tuesday evening, exposed concrete, tiles, and a portable toilet that had been placed outside Cage’s multi-million-dollar residence during ongoing renovations. Waves from the Pacific Ocean continued to erode the shoreline, undermining the stanchions supporting the house, which Cage purchased for $10.5 million.

In response to the hazardous conditions, Malibu city officials declared a local emergency near 31630 Sea Level Drive and issued an evacuation order affecting dozens of nearby homes in the exclusive community. Sheriff’s deputies alerted residents directly, and a digital warning was distributed through city channels.

Farther south in Dana Point, authorities deployed truckloads of boulders along the beach to protect properties after seven homes were deemed uninhabitable due to erosion, with one structure having partially collapsed into the sea. The ongoing coastal damage has been exacerbated by the storm-driven swells.

National Weather Service meteorologist Richard Thompson noted that the heavy surf resulted from the lingering effects of Hurricane Marie. "There were some pretty significant surf and swells across the area in the last several days," he said, describing wave heights of 10 to 15 feet in some locations and substantial beach erosion.

The recent storms come as Hurricane Lowell recently struck Hawaii, bringing powerful winds, intense rainfall, flooding, and widespread power outages across one island. These weather patterns are occurring amid a near-record-strength El Niño event, which is causing elevated Pacific Ocean temperatures and increasing the likelihood of intense storms in the region.

While El Niño is a natural climate cycle, scientists warn that underlying human-driven global warming may be amplifying the intensity and frequency of such weather events, contributing to the growing threat to coastal communities.