Nicolas Cage’s Malibu beachfront home damaged after driveway collapses into massive sinkhole
Developing story first seen 4 hours ago
Nicolas Cage's Malibu beachfront home was damaged in the early hours of Tuesday morning when its driveway collapsed into a large sinkhole, following days of rough surf. The Los Angeles County Fire Department attributed the collapse to coastal erosion worsened by Hurricane Marie, a Pacific storm that generated big waves and high tides, and the incident also triggered a gas leak that prompted the closure of the private road. Cage was not at home when the collapse occurred and no injuries have been reported, though the City of Malibu has red-tagged five properties, prohibiting entry while officials assess the damage.
The sinkhole measured roughly 30 by 30 feet, exposing the supporting beams beneath the property along with debris from a shattered glass fence and broken concrete. Cage, an Academy Award-winning actor known for films including "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Face/Off", bought the 4,000-square-foot oceanfront property in 2024 for $10.5 million. Malibu authorities say they are also monitoring further erosion risks along the Pacific Coast Highway near the Palisades Fire burn area and at Westward Beach, warning that strong El Niño conditions could bring additional storms, waves and mudslides to the Southern California coast.
- Nicolas Cage's Malibu driveway collapsed into a 30ft sinkhole
- Coastal erosion from Hurricane Marie caused the collapse and a gas leak
- No injuries; five homes red-tagged as officials assess damage
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Malibu is a coastal city in Southern California known for its beachfront properties, many owned by celebrities. Actor Nicolas Cage, an Oscar winner best known for films such as Leaving Las Vegas, Face/Off and Gone in 60 Seconds, bought an oceanfront home there in 2024 for $10.5 million. The area sits on the Pacific Coast Highway, a coastal road that has become more prone to landslides and erosion since the Palisades Fire burned nearby hillsides.
Stretches of the Southern California coastline have faced heavy surf and unusually high tides in recent days, an effect made worse by Hurricane Marie churning in the Pacific Ocean. These conditions can undermine cliffside and beachfront properties built on sand or unstable ground, sometimes causing land to give way without warning. Local authorities, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff's and Fire Departments and the City of Malibu's Building Safety Division, are responsible for assessing such damage and restricting access to affected homes when necessary.
This kind of event matters because it highlights the wider vulnerability of California's coastal communities to erosion, storms and related hazards, which officials warn could worsen if El Niño conditions bring further extreme weather to the region.
Full account
A driveway collapse triggered a large sinkhole outside Nicolas Cage's oceanfront property in Malibu in the early hours of Tuesday morning, after days of powerful surf battered the Southern California coastline. Emergency crews were called to the scene at around 5.45am and discovered not only the collapsed roadway but a ruptured gas main beneath it, prompting the Southern California Gas Company to be summoned to shut off the supply. Officials attributed the collapse to coastal erosion worsened by swell from Hurricane Marie, a storm that stayed well out to sea but sent unusually large waves and elevated tides towards the coast.
The Oscar-winning actor's home sits in the secluded Point Lechuza enclave near Broad Beach, on Sea Level Drive East, and footage from the scene showed a hole roughly thirty feet across where the driveway had been, with the ocean and the supporting pilings beneath the house visible below. Debris including broken glass fencing and chunks of concrete could be seen scattered in the pit, cordoned off with warning cones. The property itself, raised on pilings, remained standing, and authorities confirmed the house was unoccupied at the time, with no injuries reported and no evacuation order issued for the surrounding area.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Fire Department shut the private road while the City of Malibu's Building Safety Division worked alongside the gas company to assess the danger, ultimately red-tagging five neighbouring homes to bar entry. City officials said the episode formed part of a wider pattern of storm-driven erosion being watched along Pacific Coast Highway near the Palisades fire burn scar and at Westward Beach, with further wave and flood advisories in place across Los Angeles and Orange County beaches into the following evening. Malibu's statement noted the city was bracing for additional storms, heavy rain and mudslides as forecasters pointed to a strong El Niño pattern this season.
Property records cited in reporting show Cage bought the roughly 4,000-square-foot contemporary house in 2024 for $10.5 million, a home noted for its rooftop deck, ground-floor lounge area and floor-to-ceiling glazing framing the shoreline. The actor, known for films including Face/Off, Gone in 60 Seconds and his Academy Award-winning turn in Leaving Las Vegas, does not appear to have been present when the ground gave way. The damage to his property was one flashpoint in a broader run of storm impacts along the coast that week, from further erosion at Pacific Palisades to rare wave-driven flooding and evacuations in Long Beach and red-tagged estates in Dana Point.
Where outlets differ
One account centres the story squarely on Cage's home and the celebrity angle, quoting the Malibu city statement at length, including its warnings about El Niño-driven storms; the other situates the sinkhole within a broader regional wrap-up of storm damage, giving equal weight to erosion at Pacific Palisades, flooding evacuations in Long Beach and red-tagged homes in Dana Point.
The regional-focused account supplies more precise operational detail — the exact time crews responded (5.45am), the street address (Sea Level Drive East, Point Lechuza), and a direct quote from a fire department spokesman confirming the home was unoccupied — whereas the Cage-focused account leans more on visual description of the hole and debris and on property background (purchase price, square footage, home features).
Only the Cage-centred account details the house's sale history and features and recaps his acting career; only the regional account references specific advisories (high surf and coastal flood advisories, wave heights, tide levels) and the wider pattern of Hurricane Marie's effects across multiple Southern California beach communities.
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