Malibu could face coastal flooding by Thanksgiving, engineer warns Play

This week's coastal flooding down in Orange County has not appeared in Malibu. We've been lucky. The high tides that have been about two feet higher than normal have not been accompanied by any big waves or any rainstorms and winds.

But coincidentally at Thanksgiving and Christmas there will be even higher tides, and the storm window will probably be open then given the long-range weather forecast.

It's possible Malibu will see Orange County-style flooding, according to coastal engineer Reg Brown, who's lived in Malibu for decades.

"Those areas that will probably be flooded — and I want the people that live in those areas to understand this — they'll probably be flooded because they've been flooded in the past. We've had many El Niños.

"The east end of Malibu Colony, the closer you get to the lagoon — matter of fact, on each side of the lagoon — even the houses next to the pier could be in jeopardy of coastal erosion and high wave action."

Brown was speaking at Wednesday night's City of Malibu El Niño public session. The one-hour tape is available at the city's website.