{
  "id": 7710793,
  "title": "Music festival cancelled after El Niño-linked hurricane erodes beach",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/music-festival-cancelled-after-el-nino-linked-hurricane-erodes-beach",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-16T05:02:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Euronews",
    "slug": "euronews",
    "url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/09/16/music-festival-cancelled-after-el-nino-linked-hurricane-erodes-beach"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A music festival in Santa Monica, California has been called off due to extensive damage caused by a hurricane and beach erosion linked to the \"Super\" El Niño weather pattern. The two-day Ocean Way Festival, set to take place later this month, was doomed before it began as 4.5 metre-high waves and storm runoff severely degraded the coastal site. The Killers, Olivia Dean and Jack White were among the artists originally scheduled to perform at the inaugural Ocean Way Festival, which was orchestrated by Coachella promoters Goldenvoice. Hurricane Marie, fueled by the powerful El Niño weather pattern, wreaked havoc on coastal communities from Malibu to Long Beach and Dana Point. With the storm surge eroding the sand, making the beach unsafe for the festival, Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis announced the cancellation, stating, \"The surf took the beach we planned this on, and we cannot put tens of thousands of festival-goers on that sand until it's safe.\" The coastal city, which is the southern terminus of Route 66, boasts a vast stretch of golden sand and a historic wooden pier often featured in American media. The festival's cancellation follows the discovery of a massive sinkhole on a beachfront home in Malibu, prompting the evacuation of 31 nearby residences. Homes in nearby Dana Point were also deemed uninhabitable, with one collapsing into the sea. Similar issues have been observed in Laguna Beach. Experts attribute the intensified storms to a near-record El Niño, which is intensifying due to climate change, exacerbating the natural cycle of stronger tropical systems.",
  "summary": "Ocean Way is not the first festival to be affected by climate change.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "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."
}