A landslide sent luxury homes sliding down a hill in the upscale beach community of Laguna Beach on Wednesday, destroying nine houses but causing no serious injuries, authorities said. At least 21 other homes were damaged in the slide which happened just before 7 a.m. as residents were getting up and preparing to go to work or school, Reuters reported. Some of the ocean-view homes slid intact 30 feet down the hillside, others were left tilting precariously on dirt piles, roads buckled and and sidewalks disappeared. Firefighters said no one was trapped in the homes and that injuries were only minor. About 40 homes were evacuated while officials determined the possibility of further slippages in the area, which is about 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Los Angeles. "My report is that we have not had injuries," said Laguna Beach Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider. The immediate trigger of the landslide was not clear but it followed the heaviest winter rains in over a century in southern California. "I would have to say that this is just Mother Nature," Pearson-Schneider told KNBC television. In January, a mudslide in the seaside community of La Conchita, 80 miles (130 km) north of Los Angeles, killed 10 people and swallowed up 15 houses.
