Landslide destroys California homes, state of emergency declared

ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A landslide has destroyed numerous high-end homes in a California town, south of Los Angeles.

At least 12 homes have been red-tagged by officials as they slowly collapse into the neighboring canyon, and 10 others are being monitored as the land continues to shift.

According to L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, the ground has moved about 20 feet since Tuesday night.

Homes across the Rolling Hills Estates are now almost level with what's left of their driveways, and apparent fissures widening in the land underneath.

The Rolling Hills Estates City Council declared a state of emergency Tuesday, allowing them to ask for financial support from the State Office of Emergency Services (SOES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Some residents had as little as ten minutes warning before they were told to evacuate this weekend.

Five additional homes were evacuated on Tuesday as the continued ground movement caused a sewer main to break.

Now the question is: What caused the landslide and what happens next for the neighborhood on the brink?