El Niño storms cause cliff to crumble into ocean as houses teeter on the edge

California residents found notes on their door saying erosion had rendered homes uninhabitable and they were allowed inside only to remove belongings

A row of clifftop houses in Pacifica, California, have had to be condemned because parts of the bluff have begun to crumble dramatically into the ocean as powerful El Nino storms have drenched the coastline with heavy rains.

Drone footage captured on Saturday shows residents of Esplanade Avenue in Pacifica, just south of San Francisco, watching from a terrace as sections of cliff break off practically below where they stand.