{
  "id": 6827872,
  "title": "Coastal erosion forces cancellation of US music festival",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/coastal-erosion-forces-cancellation-of-us-music-festival",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-12T00:05:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "RTE News",
    "slug": "rte-news",
    "url": "https://www.rte.ie/news/newslens/2026/0912/1591256-beach-erosion-us/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Ocean Way Festival, which was to feature The Killers, Olivia Dean and Jack White, has been cancelled due to coastal erosion on the California beach where it was to be held. Two days prior to the event, waves up to 4.5 meters and storm runoff from Hurricane Marie severely degraded the beach in Santa Monica, a city near Los Angeles. The city announced that the storm had stripped sand from the beach, making it unsafe for the festival, and Mayor Caroline Torosis stated that tens of thousands of festival-goers could not be accommodated on the degraded sand. The city of Santa Monica, which is the official end point of Route 66, is known for its wide stretch of golden sand and a large wooden pier often featured in American television shows and movies. Similarly, in Malibu, officials ordered the evacuation of 31 homes due to a large sinkhole opened by the storm, and at least seven homes in Dana Point were declared uninhabitable after rapid erosion. This recurring coastal erosion is attributed to a near-record strength El Nino climate episode, which is warming ocean waters and increasing volatility, further exacerbated by human-caused climate change.",
  "summary": "A music festival set to feature The Killers, Olivia Dean and Jack White was cancelled because the California beach where it was to be held has been eaten away by coastal erosion.",
  "key_points": [
    "Ocean Way Festival canceled due to coastal erosion",
    "Waves up to 4.5 meters and Hurricane Marie damage beach",
    "Mayor Caroline Torosis: unsafe sand for tens of thousands"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The cancellation of the Ocean Way Festival highlights the growing vulnerability of coastal events to climate-related disruptions, as severe weather fueled by human-caused climate change erodes beaches and disrupts communities.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}