California Governor Gavin Newsom declares a state of emergency for Rancho Palos Verdes, which is threatened by landslides

California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in the southern California city of Rancho Palos Verdes after a landslide threatened homes and the local utility company cut off electricity and gas to 245 households because of dangers posed by broken pipes and power lines.

On Tuesday afternoon, Newsom issued the statement to the Los Angeles city community after local elected officials held a press conference over the weekend and reiterated their call for action.

The governor said in a statement that the city lies on four of five landslides that make up the Greater Portugal landslide complex. He said earth movement in parts of the complex had “accelerated significantly following severe storms in 2023 and 2024.”

The Governor's Office of Emergency Services said it has been working with the city and county for nearly a year to support the landslide response, including providing technical assistance, supporting the local relief center, securing a federal mitigation grant for groundwater work in the area and assisting officials with the initial damage assessment.

The governor's decision came just hours before residents and local politicians met with utility officials to discuss the growing crisis.

“We cannot predict how much this downward trend will accelerate in the coming weeks and months,” said Larry Chung, vice president of Southern California Edison (SCE), during Tuesday evening's meeting.

Residents in the expanding landslide area, which has expanded to about 680 acres over the past year, have been advised to evacuate after SCE cut off power to 245 homes on Sunday and Monday, saying many of them will be without electricity and gas indefinitely.

Chung stressed during the meeting that due to the country's instability, there is “no time frame” for restoring power to the affected areas.

“The safety of community members and crews remains our highest priority,” he added.

In January, Sallie Reeves told ABC News she had noticed small cracks in the walls and floors of her Rancho Palos Verdes home, where she has lived for four decades. But by Tuesday, those cracks had grown into a widening fissure that was running through her entire house, destroying one room after another as the earth beneath her home moved at an estimated 12 inches per week.

Like Reeves, residents of the coastal community are struggling with a landslide crisis that is rendering their homes uninhabitable.

“It was getting worse and the animals were coming in,” Reeves, 81, told ABC News, pointing to the spot where her house was split in half, leaving her master bedroom outdoors.

“It was a bitter pill to swallow,” Reeves told ABC News, adding that her husband is disabled.

She said she and her husband had to move out of their master bedroom after damage to the roof caused it to leak so badly that it felt like “someone just pointed a hose at our bed.”

Over the past four months, Reeves said, things have gotten worse as parts of her ceiling have collapsed and the gap between her patio and her house has widened to about 18 inches. Reeves said she and her husband slept in their living room until the landslide made it uninhabitable. Now they have moved to a bedroom at the back, she said.

Rancho Palos Verdes is located about 30 miles south of Los Angeles.

“There is no playbook for an emergency like this,” said Janice Hahn, the Los Angeles County executive who represents the area, at a news conference Sunday. “We are sparing no expense. This is bigger than Rancho Palos Verdes. This land movement is so gigantic and so damaging that one city should not bear the burden alone.”

Hahn said the county has allocated $5 million to combat the disaster.

According to officials, the shift in the ground caused water and gas pipes to leak, and the city was forced to put special signs on at least two houses that had become uninhabitable due to the damage.

“Yes, this landslide has been going on for decades, but the acceleration that is happening now exceeds anything we all could have predicted, and it requires a stronger response from the states, a stronger response from the federal government,” Hahn said.

Evacuation warnings have been issued for parts of the city, but residents like Reeves said they would not leave their homes.

“When people say, 'Why don't you just go somewhere? I can't just take him somewhere,'” Reeves said of her disabled husband, who is also in his 80s. “I can't go to a hotel. He can't get in the beds. I'm his 24-hour care.”

Reeves said she is working with a contractor on plans to raise her house and build a steel foundation that will rest on substructures; she expects to pay for repairs out of her own pocket.

“I would happily show Gavin Newsom my house because I'm not the only one living like this,” Reeves said. “This is what Mother Nature does.”

ABC News' Matt Rivers and Lissette Rodriguez contributed to this report.