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Tropical Storm Rachel brings flooding and damage to Southern California coast

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 10 outlets, mostly left-leaning (60%).

14 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Large waves crash over beachfront homes in an aerial view of coastal flooding.
Image via The New York TimesHow images are chosenReport this image

Tropical Storm Rachel brought heavy surf, flooding and beach closures to Southern California communities over the weekend. Straight Arrow News reports that Newport Beach declared a local emergency and closed its beaches and piers, and that flash flooding reached streets near the Las Vegas Strip. The New York Post and Daily Mail report that waves damaged a century-old Long Beach boardwalk, and Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said at least eight buildings representing 13 addresses were red-tagged as unsafe to enter. The Los Angeles Times reports that coastal damage was less than feared, while NPR reports the storm was downgraded as it moved inland.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Tropical Storm Rachel brought heavy rain, surf and coastal flooding to Southern California communities.

    Reported byLeft4Center1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, NPR
    Center
    Straight Arrow News
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post

  2. Beaches were closed in several Southern California coastal communities, and Newport Beach declared a local emergency.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Center
    Straight Arrow News
    Right
    Daily Mail

  3. Waves damaged the century-old boardwalk in Long Beach, and sections were torn away.

    Reported byCenter1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    Straight Arrow News
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail

  4. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said at least eight buildings representing 13 addresses were red-tagged as unsafe to enter.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail

  5. Flash flooding sent water through streets near the Las Vegas Strip.

    One outletStraight Arrow News· Center

  6. Forecasters said the storm was downgraded as high winds and rain moved inland.

    One outletNPR· Left

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • The extent of damage to Southern California coastal properties.

    The New York Post and Daily Mail describe homes destroyed and crumbling into the ocean, while the Los Angeles Times reports that coastal damage was less than feared.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports flooding, beach closures and storm damage across Southern California from Tropical Storm Rachel. Right-leaning outlets focus on destroyed Long Beach homes and boardwalk, left-leaning ones on the storm's downgrade and less-than-feared coastal damage, and the center outlet on Las Vegas flooding.

  • the left

    6 outlets

    Headlines lead with the storm's scale and trajectory, such as its downgrade and widespread flooding, and one headline says coastal damage was less than feared.

    Rachel deluges Southwest with rain, but battered coast catches a break
    Los Angeles TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    The single center headline leads with flooding across Southern California and Las Vegas, and with Newport Beach's emergency declaration.

    Flooding hits Southern California, Las Vegas Strip as Newport Beach declares emergency
    Straight Arrow NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Headlines lead with destruction to homes and a boardwalk and with residents' distress, using words such as annihilates and crumbling into the ocean.

    Long Beach homeowners heartbroken as Tropical Storm Rachel Sensational language“annihilates”The word describes complete destruction, while the coverage reports eight red-tagged buildings and damage to some homes.More neutral: damagesDisagree with this highlight? houses
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left1

    devastates homes

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right4

    wreaks havocslammedannihilatesmonster waves

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    wreaks havocMore neutral: Tropical Storm Rachel damages Long Beach boardwalk and winds hit Inland Empire

    The phrase adds drama beyond the reported damage, which the article describes in plain terms.

    Tropical Storm Rachel wreaks havoc as Long Beach boardwalk destroyed, winds batter Inland Empire

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    devastates homesMore neutral: damages homes

    The headline states a severity of damage that the excerpt does not detail and that the Los Angeles Times, covering the same coast, says was less than feared.

    Tropical Storm Rachel devastates homes in California: "We've never seen anything like this"

    Used byCBS News (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    slammedMore neutral: hit

    The verb adds force to the storm's arrival where a neutral verb would report the same event.

    …families to evacuate and ripping apart a century-old boardwalk as yet another storm slammed Southern California.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    annihilatesMore neutral: damages

    The word describes complete destruction, while the coverage reports eight red-tagged buildings and damage to some homes.

    Long Beach homeowners heartbroken as Tropical Storm Rachel annihilates houses

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    monster wavesMore neutral: large waves

    The phrase adds drama to the wave height without giving a measurement.

    A powerful storm in California has battered waterfront property as monster waves whipped up by Tropical Storm Rachel tore away nearly 30 feet of a boardwalk.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

6 outlets

Leads with

  • storm downgrade
  • widespread inland flooding
  • coastal damage less than feared
  • El Niño outlook

Leaves out

  • number of Long Beach homes red-tagged as unsafe, reported in right-side coverage

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 7 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Washington PostLeft

    California beaches, homes slammed by waves from Tropical Storm Rachel

    Some houses were marked as unsafe after the ground washed away beneath them.

    Read at The Washington Post (opens in a new tab)
  • ABC NewsLeftAssociated Press report

    Flash-flood risk lingers across the Southwest after Rachel’s remnants swamped Nevada

    The National Weather Service has issued more flood watches and is warning of more showers and isolated thunderstorms in the Southwest after the remnants of tropical storm Rachel caused severe flooding in Nevada over the weekend

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)
  • CBS NewsLeft

    Tropical Storm Rachel Sensational language“devastates homes”The headline states a severity of damage that the excerpt does not detail and that the Los Angeles Times, covering the same coast, says was less than feared.More neutral: damages homesDisagree with this highlight? in California: "We've never seen anything like this"

    Tropical Storm Rachel caused devastation along the waterfront in Long Beach, California. Akiko Fujita reports and Grant Gilmore has the forecast.

    Read at CBS News (opens in a new tab)
  • NPRLeft

    Tropical Storm Rachel downgraded as high winds and rain turn inward

    Forecasters say the storm, which brought heavy rain and coastal flooding, is a preview of what may be in store as California braces for a possibly record-setting El Niño.

    Read at NPR (opens in a new tab)
  • Los Angeles TimesLeft

    Rachel deluges Southwest with rain, but battered coast catches a break

    Remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel brought heavy rain and flooding to the Southwest, though Southern California coastal damage was less than feared.

    Read at Los Angeles Times (opens in a new tab)
  • The New York TimesLeft

    Powerful Storm Surge Pounds Beach Homes in Southern California

    Waves from Post-Tropical Storm Rachel crashed into beachfront homes in Long Beach, Calif. over the weekend, prompting evacuations.

    Read at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)
  • ABC NewsLeft

    Some California beaches forced to close after 'unusually high' ocean water levels

    The remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel are fueling flooding in several Southern California coastal communities.

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • flooding in Newport Beach and Las Vegas
  • emergency declaration
  • El Niño-enhanced swells
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • homes destroyed or threatened
  • boardwalk ripped apart
  • residents' distress
  • red-tagged homes

Leaves out

  • coastal damage described as less than feared, reported in Los Angeles Times coverage

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    16 hr 10 min later

    Its first report, Oct 11, 12:03 PM EDT

  • Center

    1 day 11 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 12, 7:05 AM EDT

  • Right

    First to report

    Daily Mail, Oct 10, 7:53 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Daily MailRightOct 10, 7:53 PM EDT
  2. ABC NewsLeftOct 11, 12:03 PM EDT
  3. New York PostRightOct 11, 12:18 PM EDT
  4. The New York TimesLeftOct 11, 6:59 PM EDT
  5. Los Angeles TimesLeftOct 11, 7:32 PM EDT
  6. NPRLeftOct 11, 7:54 PM EDT
  7. CBS NewsLeftOct 11, 8:06 PM EDT
  8. Straight Arrow NewsCenterOct 12, 7:05 AM EDT
  9. BBC NewsCenterOct 12, 12:12 PM EDT
  10. The Washington PostLeftOct 12, 3:45 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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