Malibu sinkhole prompts evacuations near Nicolas Cage home

Malibu officials ordered evacuations affecting dozens of homes after a large sinkhole opened on the driveway of a beachfront home belonging to US actor Nicolas Cage.

The hole appeared Tuesday as heavy surf from the after-effects of a hurricane struck the Southern California coastline. Photographs showed concrete, tiles and a portable toilet in the crater, which was estimated to be as much as 60 feet wide in places.

By Tuesday evening, the sinkhole was about 25 feet deep as waves continued to erode the coast and lap around supports for the house.

The City of Malibu said its director of emergency services had declared a local emergency after the sinkhole formed near 31630 Sea Level Drive. The city said an evacuation order was in effect for affected properties and that sheriff's deputies had notified residents in person.

Richard Thompson, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told AFP that remnants of Hurricane Marie had roiled coastal waters off Southern California. He said surf and swells had reached 10 to 15 feet in some places in recent days, with significant beach erosion.

Farther south in Dana Point, truckloads of boulders were placed along a beach to protect properties in an area where seven homes had already been declared uninhabitable and one had partially collapsed into the sea.