Several lanes at the intersection of Windhorst Road and Parsons Avenue in Brandon remained closed for the indefinite future as county workers tread carefully in determining what caused a section of the roadway to collapse July 19.
“We have to be really careful at that intersection because there are lots of utility lines in the area,” said Hillsborough County spokesman Patrick Murray. "We have a sewer line and a water line there and we have to make sure there are no other utilities, so we have to be careful drilling.”
At the scene, late afternoon July 22, barricades were seen at the intersection, with drilling under way.
Crew workers first believed a 16-inch sewage pipeline beneath the intersection might have caused the collapse of the 6-foot-square section of roadway on July 19, according to a county report.
But the sewer line was dug up and found to be intact. Now the county is testing the intersection for sinkholes — but carefully, as Murray noted.
Additional detours and lane closures are possible as crews dig up the line for inspection and any necessary repairs.
Motorists who must travel through the intersection are warned to expect delays.
Yvonne Lawson
'We're sitting on an atom bomb': How picturesque Indian town is SINKING with huge cracks opening up in collapsing houses
A picturesque Indian town has become 'an atom bomb' as it is begins sinking with huge cracks opening up in collapsing houses.
Residents of Joshimath, in the Chamoli District of India, have had to evacuate their homes as a result of land subsidence in the local area.
The town which holds a population of around 25,000 has seen over 500 houses develop huge cracks as others began to sink over the past ten days.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has called for a detailed report from the district magistrate of Chamoli, Himanshu Khurana, which will decide if the 50 affected families are 'shifted' or rehabilitated.
Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, Convener of Joshimath, said: 'All of us are living on a ticking "atom bomb" that can explode at any moment.
'Cracks are also visible on the national highway, government schools. as well as hospital'
Officials from the NTPC have claimed that as the tunnels are now completely dry, the sinking is not due to their project.
Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11606667/How-Indian-town-J...
Also read: http://www.zetatalk.com/info/tinfo24a.htm
Jan 8, 2023
Yvonne Lawson
At least one dead and five injured in NYC parking garage collapse, as officials warn death and injury toll may 'change rapidly' and order neighbouring buildings to evacuate
At least one person has been killed and five others injured after a parking garage collapsed in Manhattan, leaving cars piled up amongst crumbled concrete on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident occurred at Enterprise Ann Parking at 57 Ann Street, between Nassau Street and William Street in lower Manhattan, near Wall Street.
The garage collapsed at 4:15pm, resulting in a huge emergency response.
A woman was heard screaming 'get out!' and images showed the top floor caved in with vehicles falling through broken concrete.
People were also trapped in the elevator shaft which caved in. City officials said that as a result the floors 'pancaked' on top of each other.
The cause of death of the deceased person has not been made public. Five people are being treated at a local hospital, FDNY Chief of Operations James Esposito said.
Residential apartments and businesses on the street have been told to evacuate until further notice.
'Injuries, deaths expected to change rapidly,' a fire official said.
Mayor Eric Adams told the media that a robotic dog also known as a Digidog was needed to go into the building because it was unstable.
'At this time this building is completely unstable and the chief - we do not want to send in someone until we can make sure the building is shored up,' the mayor added.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, speaking at the scene, called the incident a 'structural collapse'.
Responding firefighters did enter the building upon arrival but retreated when the structure was deemed unstable.
A parking attendant, who was seen being taken from the scene with his leg wrapped in a bandage, told DailyMail.com that he had been 'telling them that something like this was going to happen.'
The building is owned by Abacus Bank, the only financial institution charged with mortgage fraud in the wake of the 2008 crash.
The location of the parking garage is close to New York City Hall. A press release advised residents to expect delays on the evening commute. Trains around the Fulton Street hub are moving at slower speeds.
City Council member Christopher Marte tweeted that there are 'a few people stuck in an elevator in the building.'
Don Mulligan was inside the hotel directly next to the garage when it collapsed.
'The evacuation was very orderly, they weren't rushing people, just went over the intercom and got everyone out,' he told DailyMail.com.
A witness described the sound of the crash as being an 'incredible noise.'
'I was wondering what that was so I went to the window and I just saw the top floor of this garage...just beginning to cave in and cars just following into this pit,' Erasmo Guerra told NBC New York.
Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11987439/Parking-garage-co...
Apr 19, 2023
Derrick Johnson
No victims found in huge debris pile after corner of Bronx apartment building collapses
NEW YORK (AP) — Firefighters said they didn’t find anybody trapped in an enormous mound of rubble Monday after a corner of a seven-story Bronx apartment building collapsed, leaving apartments exposed like a stack of shelves and a convenience store partly buried under bricks and wood.
Firefighters spent hours searching a pile of debris that was 12 feet (3.6 meters) high in spots, the fire department reported on social media late Monday night. No victims were found but two people received minor injuries while evacuating the damaged building, the department said.
The proprietor of the ground floor shop said the people inside got out safely, city officials said.
During the search, firefighters used buckets, power tools and heavy equipment while officials kept a watchful eye on the portions of the building that remained standing.
“Our main objective is to get to the bottom of that pile,” Fire Department Chief of Department John Hodgens said at an earlier news conference. “We’ll be here until it’s down to the street level, just to make sure if there are any victims under there, hopefully we can get to them in time.”
Officials were looking into what caused the collapse, which happened at a 1927 building that had been undergoing facade repairs.
A worker at a nearby deli, Julian Rodriguez, said he was behind the counter when he heard people screaming about a building collapse.
“When I went outside, all you could see is the debris and a smoke cloud in the street,” said Rodriguez, 22. “And you could see inside the structure: people’s beds, their doors, closets, lights, everything. It was really scary.”
A corner of the building stood with its walls sheared off and floors sagging, with a heap of debris spilling out into the street. In one apartment, a bed stood feet away from the edge of a floor that now jutted out into the air; in another, art hanging on the wall was visible. Elsewhere, an armchair rested on a floor that tilted precariously down, like the top of a staved-in box.
One of the collapsed rooms appeared to be a child’s bedroom. A tiny pink jacket hung on a hook. Boxes of playthings and clothing were visible on cabinets that still stood on the remaining parts of the floor.
Firefighters shined bright lights into apartment windows from high ladders and used at least one drone to peer in. A search dog plied the pile, which included twisted and jumbled metal, apparently from scaffolding, and a robotic dog also headed into the debris.
Firefighters carted away rubble in buckets and used circular saws to cut through the collapsed scaffolding, and an excavator clawed through the rubble.
“We’re tunneling into that debris pile as safely as we can,” Hodgens said. “Firefighters right now are in a dangerous position. We don’t know what caused this corner of this building to come down. We don’t know if any of it is going to come down.”
A 2020 inspection found cracked brick and loose, damaged mortar on the building’s facade, Buildings Department records show. Commissioner Jimmy Oddo said Monday that work had started but he didn’t believe any workers were there at the time of the collapse.
“I want to be clear: Unsafe facade conditions is not the same as an unsafe building,” he said at the news conference. While the property had seven unresolved violations, they weren’t structural, he said.
Oddo said officials would scrutinize drawings pertaining to the collapsed area. The images were submitted as part of permitting for the facade work.
The phone rang unanswered at a possible number for the building’s owner.
Security camera video obtained by several news organizations showed people scattering off the sidewalk as debris rained down in a billowing cloud of dust.
A resident of the building’s sixth floor, Domingo Taveras Tejada, said he was slightly hurt in the panic of the escape.
“When I heard the collapse, I went running and I fell down the stairs. When I went outside, I saw the collapse,” the 32-year-old said.
Building resident Norma Arias told The New York Times she had just returned from buying cilantro at the bodega when she heard a loud boom in her first floor apartment and heard a neighbor scream, “Everybody get out. The building is coming down.”
Buildings Department records show the structure has nearly 50 apartments. Residents were being directed to a school to get help, and the city was parking buses near the building as a place to stay warm.
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This story has been corrected to show that the building is seven stories tall, not six stories tall.
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Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak and Cedar Attanasio contributed.
https://apnews.com/article/bronx-building-collapse-nyc-f4d809615f7f...
Dec 12, 2023