A massive 30-foot by 30-foot sinkhole has swallowed the driveway of a Malibu property owned by Academy Award-winning actor Nicolas Cage, marking one of the most visible aftermaths of Tropical Storm Marie’s destructive pass along Southern California’s coastline.
Local eyewitness accounts reveal that the ground began showing signs of instability as early as Monday, when an 8-foot depression was first spotted on the property. Nearby residents told local media that at the initial stage, the property’s owners did not view the issue as overly serious, anticipating a quick, straightforward repair. But that mild concern quickly escalated into a full-scale emergency when the ground gave way entirely in the early hours of Tuesday, expanding the small depression into a gaping 30-foot crater that engulfed most of the paved driveway.
The collapse triggered an emergency response after a gas line was damaged in the shift. First responders arrived quickly to contain the incident, and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) later confirmed that the leak had been fully secured. No injuries have been reported from the incident, according to initial official reports.
The sinkhole, which sits on a coastal stretch of Malibu, has already been impacted by ongoing coastal erosion: AFP reporters on the scene noted that ocean waves now lap directly into the crater, flowing in and out beneath the support stanchions that hold up the hillside home. Traffic control cones have been placed around the unstable site to keep bystanders away.
The damage comes on the heels of days of heavy rain and powerful high surf driven by Tropical Storm Marie, which weakened from hurricane status as it moved along the Southern California coast. Though the storm remained well offshore, it still dumped significant rainfall and sent damaging waves pounding against erodible coastal bluffs in Malibu. Local city officials have since declared at least five homes on the same street unsafe for occupancy, warning that the widespread ground collapse has severely restricted emergency access and left large sections of the roadway impassable.
The property, purchased by Cage in 2024 shortly after the original sale was finalized, per reporting from the *New York Times*, is one of the actor’s Southern California residences. Cage, a 1996 Academy Award winner for his leading role in *Leaving Las Vegas*, is renowned for his decades-long career spanning iconic films including *Face/Off*, *Gone in 60 Seconds*, *Con Air*, and more recent critically acclaimed projects like *Pig* and *The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent*. The BBC has reached out to Cage’s representatives for additional comment on the incident, and no statement has been released as of yet.