Collapsing Buildings and Roadways

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Building Collapse in Manchester, UK

October 17, 2025, a playground collapsed at Zijiang School in Shaoyang City, Hunan Province, fortunately no casualties were reported. The Zijiang School playground collapse emergency response headquarters announced on Saturday that they have begun an investigation to the cause.

The emergency response headquarters confirmed that the west wall and some playgrounds of the campus of the school collapsed, and the corners of the west side of the Boxue Building (teaching building) were damaged.

ZETATALK: THE STRETCH ZONE, THAT SINKING FEELING

ZetaTalk explores the concept of Earth's "stretch zones"—regions where tectonic plates are being pulled apart due to planetary forces, particularly in anticipation of a predicted pole shift. It focuses heavily on the eastern seaboard of the U.S., the Caribbean, and parts of Europe, warning that these areas will experience significant land subsidence due to the widening of the Atlantic Rift.

Key points include:

• Historical evidence of submerged forests and civilizations off the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda.

• Predictions that areas like Florida, Georgia, and the UK will lose elevation and be permanently flooded.

• A detailed catalog of sinkholes, train derailments, infrastructure collapses, and mysterious odors from 2004–2005, interpreted as signs of Earth stretching.

• The concept of “imploding cities”, where underground infrastructure fails due to shifting rock layers.

• Warnings to relocate from vulnerable coastal and low-lying areas before the pole shift occurs.

More: https://www.zetatalk.com/index/blog1010.htm

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/suffolk/crews-on-scene-of-indu...

Fatal accident at Amazon job site in Suffolk leaves two dead

Posted: Aug 29, 2020 / 03:03 PM EDT / Updated: Aug 29, 2020 / 09:17 PM EDT

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — An industrial accident at the Amazon Fulfillment Center job site in Suffolk left two dead on Saturday afternoon.

The call came in around 2:10 p.m. for the incident in the 2000 block of North Gate Commerce Parkway in Suffolk near I-664. Officials confirmed that it was a commercial structural collapse at the site of where the Amazon Center is being built.

According to a press release, two people were confirmed dead and there was concern that some workers were not accounted for.

Fire and rescue crews from Suffolk, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach searched for additional missing persons with assistance from a FEMA K-9 Dog. Concluding the search, officials said that all workers from the job site were accounted for and no additional injuries were reported.

The accident is under investigation by the Suffolk Police and OSHA. No further information is available.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://romesentinel.com/stories/13-die-in-china-building-collapse,...

13 die in China building collapse

Posted Saturday, August 29, 2020 9:58 am

BEIJING (AP) — Thirteen people were killed in China after a two-story restaurant collapsed during a gathering this morning, state media said.

State broadcaster CCTV said in a social media post that 30 other people were brought out from the rubble, including four with serious injuries. The restaurant was in Shanxi province’s Xiangfen county, 400 miles southwest of Beijing.

The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear.

Hundreds of rescue workers, wearing hardhats and face masks, searched for trapped people in a daylong operation.

Video posted by CCTV showed them hefting heavy pieces of concrete. At least once, the remaining frame of the building shook but didn’t fall.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/business-building-collapses-in-no...

St. Louis, MO

Updated: Aug 28, 2020 / 11:43 AM CDT

ST. LOUIS – For a third time in less than a week, a building collapsed in St. Louis. This time, there were people inside. Fortunately, No one was hurt.

According to the St. Louis Fire Department, the second floor of Dorothy’s TV, Appliance & Furniture, at MLK Drive and Hamilton, fell onto the sidewalk about 10:15 a.m. Friday.

“We were in there just moving some stuff around and we heard this big boom. The next thing you know, we looked up front and everything was just falling,” said employee Leland Vasser. “(It) scared me pretty good. I’m just glad we had that second floor there to keep this stuff from falling down on us.”

Vasser and three others inside the store were frozen in place; there was nowhere to hide. Thankfully, all the tumbling brick and mortar from the second floor did not fall through the ceiling over their heads and no one was hit on the sidewalk. It remained buried by debris Friday evening. Orange cones and police tape surrounded the site as more bricks appeared ready to fall.

A search dog was used to conduct a search of the building. All of the people in the building were accounted for and no injuries were reported.

Part of a building in the historic Lemp Brewery complex fell over the weekend. A former church on Cook Avenue fell Wednesday. There were no injuries. No was inside either building.

The building on MLK Drive is believed to be about 80 years old.

A resident said a few bricks had already begun to fall earlier this week.

Records show the city’s Building Division opened an investigation there two days before the collapse, inspecting for exterior code violations. Frank Oswald of the city’s Building Division confirmed the building was condemned after the inspection.

The business continued to operate.

More buildings in St. Louis have either started falling or appear ready to fall, with bricks leaning and bowing.

The city has been aggressive in tearing down derelict buildings, going from just 32 demolitions in 2017 to 660 last year, but can’t keep up.

“It is amazing that no one was injured,” said Captain Garon Mosby.

It is such a concern that authorities are taking those watchwords for crime or terrorism—”if you see something, saying something”—and applying them to dangerous buildings.

Wet weather is a huge factor, according to experts.

The last time St. Louis had below average rainfall for a year was 2017.

According to the National Weather Service, St. Louis has had nearly 40 inches of precipitation in 2020, more than a foot above normal after being 13 inches above normal in 2019.

With all of that moisture and a lack of maintenance, old brick buildings can essentially get soft as wet bricks and mortar expand and contract through repeated hot and cool cycles.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/collapsing-buildings-and-r...

Dozens feared trapped in building collapse in India's Maharashtra state

August 24, 2020

New Delhi (CNN)Up to 60 people are believed to be trapped and some 18 injured following a building collapse in India's western Maharashtra state.

The figures are based on initial reports, according to Anupam Srivastava, head of the state unit for the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

Three teams from the NDRF are en route from the city of Pune to Mahad city in Raigaid district where the five-story building collapsed, Srivastava told CNN.

The teams are expected to reach the site in the early hours of Tuesday morning local time (5 pm ET), when they will have "a better idea of the situation," he added.

Up to 60 people are believed to be trapped after the five-story building in Mahad city collapsed.

Following the incident, the Twitter account for the office of Maharashtra's Chief Minister Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray tweeted: "CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray spoke to MLA @BharatGogawale and Collector Nidhi Chaudhary to inquire about the building collapse in Mahad. He has assured them that all possible support will be extended for speedy rescue & relief works."

India's home affairs minister, Amit Shah, tweeted: "The collapse of a building in Raigad, Maharashtra is very tragic. Have spoken to DG @NDRFHQ to provide all possible assistance, teams are on the way and will be assisting with the rescue operations as soon as possible. Praying for everyone's safety."

For centuries, agriculture in South Asia has depended on the annual monsoon, which stretches from about June until September. But intense rains and floods also cause devastation and billions of dollars in damage and economic loss across much of the region every year.

The southwestern state of Kerala has been battered by rain and flooding this season. At least 43 people, including three children, died earlier this month after torrential rains triggered a landslide.

Monsoon rains have triggered deadly flooding in the eastern Indian states of Assam and Bihar since May, affecting more than 2.4 million people, swamping large parts of a national park, and killing more than 100 wild animals, including a dozen rhinos.

Elsewhere in the region, Nepal has endured massive landslides and severe flooding, while nearly one third of Bangladesh -- and a fifth of its population of 161 million people -- have been affected by floods.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/building-at-lemp-brewery-...

Building at Lemp Brewery collapses, hundreds of bicycles underneath rubble

building at the Lemp Brewery complex partially collapsed Sunday morning, potentially destroying hundreds of bicycles stored there.

No one was injured in the collapse of the six-story brick building, which happened around 9 a.m., at Cherokee and 18th streets. St. Louis BWorks, whose charter program is St. Louis Bicycle Works, was using part of the building to store at least 700 bicycles, said Patrick Van Der Tuin, the nonprofit’s executive director.

The group teaches children about bicycle safety and maintenance; giving them a free bicycle at the end of the program. The bicycles under the rubble were collected in spring and summer to keep them working through the winter.

“Our bikes are underneath likely tons of bricks,” Van Der Tuin said at the scene of the collapse. “It’s just devastating to look at.”

He said he previously reported sections of loose bricks that had popped out from the wall to the complex’s owner, Shashi Palamand. Caution tape had been put up just last week, said Dan Guenther, alderman for the 9th Ward.

Police and first responders searched the scene with K-9s and did not find anyone inside the building. Utility workers responded to turn off water, gas and electrical connections. Nearby business Mac’s Local Eats closed for the day.

Palamand, who owns the complex under Historic Lemp Brewery LLC, said Sunday that he believed storms in April and again in July contributed to the collapse, and he had called in an engineer and a masonry company in the last few weeks to look at it. They said the damage appeared to be cosmetic and the building was structurally sound, he said. He had spent $1 million about 10 years ago to replace the roof of that building and strengthen its walls.

He said that a controlled demolition of the building would start Monday morning, and he hoped most of the bicycles would be fine. “Two-thirds of the building is not really affected as well,” he said. “I’m very confident that bikes can be saved.”

Van Der Tuin said at least one-third of the bikes were gone from what he can see on the outside, and said he thought it was a “huge maybe” that others were undamaged.

The Lemp Brewery complex is a campus of 29 buildings between Cherokee Street, South Broadway and Lemp Avenue, owned by the Historic Lemp Brewery LLC. The building that collapsed is building No. 20.

“It’s just fortunate no cars were driving by or no people walking by or anyone in the building. I don’t think anyone would have imagined a whole wall would come down,” Guenther said.

Van Der Tuin said BWorks had a work truck stolen about two weeks ago. “We keep getting kicked in the head,” he said. The bicycles in the building would have been used for the Earn-a-Bike program and for holiday bike giveaways. The program has about 300 other bicycles at its shop in the Soulard neighborhood, at 2414 Menard Street.

Employees had worked in the building as recently as Thursday, Van Der Tuin said. The space was ideal because they and volunteers could social distance and continue to work. He said that business had continued at the shop in Soulard but was curbside pickup only, and that while they stayed busy during the pandemic, accessory sales that would normally happen inside were down.

“If you manage a nonprofit, you know you have limited resources,” said employee and mechanic Chris Koehler. “We just lost all the limited resources that we have.”

Buildings in the complex were damaged in an April storm. In 2015, a fire damaged a building there; fire officials said it looked like people had been squatting in the building.

Adam Lemp founded the Western Brewery in 1840. His son renamed it for himself, and William J. Lemp Brewing Co. was one of the largest national breweries, rivaling Anheuser-Busch at the turn of the 20th century. The two brewery complexes are just blocks away from each other, both built to take advantage of natural cave complexes in the area.

Prohibition decimated Lemp’s business, and the brewery buildings were sold in 1922. The International Shoe Co. used the complex until 1992, according to the website for the group that now owns it. Manufacturing at the site ended in the 1980s, the site says. Parts of several buildings in the complex are rented out for artists’ studios, offices and other purposes.

The Lemp Mansion, a block away, and the brewery complex are rumored to .... Several commercial haunted houses have used various brewery buildings during Halloween season.

In 2019, Blue Arrow Holdings LLC received a license to use a building to gro....

St. Louis BWorks also has a program where students work to earn a desktop computer system and a cultural literacy program where students write and illustrate their own books.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.kctv5.com/news/local_news/post-office-collapses-in-miss...

Post office collapses in Missouri town of Jamesport

• Posted on Aug 19, 2020

JAMESPORT, MO (KCTV) — Emergency crews say no one was hurt Wednesday morning when the United States Post Office building in the small north-central Missouri town of Jamesport collapsed.

Officials with the Daviess County Emergency Management Agency said that the building collapse happened around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday and that no one was inside the structure at the time.

The collapse has closed traffic in the blocks around the building.

DCEMA, the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office and Jamesport Fire and Rescue were involved with the response.

Emergency officials in Daviess County saw the cause of the collapse is still under investigation.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/environment/2020/08/18/road-col...

Road collapse as storms lead to travel disruption and flooding of properties

Recovery and repair work is still under way after landslides caused by flash floods flooded six properties and brought chaos to the region.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service was called out to various incidents in Knighton, Presteigne, Llandrindod Wells and Rhayader after the weather turned sour.

A hand pump was also used to remove water from nearby businesses while a Dyfed Powys Police van wheel got stuck in a sink hole on a Radnorshire road

The van’s wheel sank into the hole, where a culvert collapsed, washing the road surface away, on the B4355 at Lloyney, near Knighton, at about 1.30am on Thursday.

A spokesman said: “The vehicle became trapped and was recovered shortly after 4am with only minor damage. The van was not on its way to an incident at the time, so no response times were affected.”

The road was closed and Powys County Council’s Highways Department said the closure would remain in place until September 1.

The storms also caused extensive damage to the Heart of Wales railway line. Passengers are encouraged to check before they travel while Network Rail engineers carry out repairs.

Replacement bus services remain in place between Shrewsbury and Llandrindod Wells.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service was called out to various incidents in Knighton, Presteigne, Llandrindod Wells and Rhayader last Wednesday.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service’s Head of Operational Response for Powys, Craig Thomas said it was a busy night for firefighters, particularly in the Knighton and Rhayader areas.

He said: “We were called to a number of incidents throughout the evening and were quite busy in Rhayader and Knighton.

“There was a landslide caused by flash floods which led to six properties being flooded in Knighton, so we were on hand to pump water away and give assistance to business and home owners affected.

“There were also a number of incidents in Llandrindod Wells so it was a busy night.”

Meanwhile, passengers using the Heart of Wales line are encouraged to check before they travel as the railway between Shrewsbury and Llandrindod Wells has been closed owing to extensive damage caused by extreme rainfall in mid-Wales on August 12 and 13.

Near Knighton, the railway has been damaged at various sites including across a 350m stretch where ballast has been washed away and significant debris has been washed onto the track meaning it is completely buried in some areas.

Network Rail engineers are working around the clock to inspect and repair the damage and will confirm how long the closure will last as soon as possible.

The closure means buses will replace trains between Shrewsbury and Llandrindod Wells with passengers advised to check before they travel at National Rail Enquiries or with Transport for Wales.

Bill Kelly, Network Rail’s Wales route director, said: “We are sorry for the disruption this has caused to passengers who use the Heart of Wales line.

“We saw extreme rainfall for a prolonged period on Thursday which has caused significant damage to sections of the railway and left debris across hundreds of metres of track.

“We are already working around the clock to repair the damage as quickly as possible and we will keep everyone updated with our progress.”

James Price, Transport for Wales CEO said: “We would like to apologise to our customers for any disruption that has been caused, we’ll be working with our partners in Network Rail to resume services as quickly as possible.

“There will be rail replacement buses available and please could all our customers check online before they travel for updated information.”

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://egypttoday.com/Article/1/90835/Building-collapses-in-Cairo-s...

Building collapses in Cairo's Qasr el Nile neighborhood

Sat, 15 Aug 2020 - 11:37 GMT

CAIRO - 15 August 2020: A building collapsed Saturday in Cairo's downtown neighborhood of Qasr el Nile. Civil protection units were able to rescue 14 people.

The civil protection units rushed to the scene and cordoned off the environs of the building. Also, traffic diversions took place following the accident. 

The sources emphasized that an inventory of the population is underway, in addition to counting the losses in conjunction with the continuing rescue operations.

Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel Aal decided to form an engineering committee to examine the properties nearby to the collapsed property No. 50 on Qasr El Nil Street to clarify the extent of its impact by the collapse.

 

The collapsed property is an architectural style registered, and two decisions were issued to remove it, but it was unimplemented. It is located in an area of 1500 meters and consists of four floors.

 

It has a money exchange company, a closed furniture showroom on the ground floor, clothing stores, and administrative and commercial offices. All facilities were disconnected from it immediately after the collapse.

 

Civil protection and security personnel at the Cairo Security Directorate evacuated residents from two properties close to the collapsed property.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_f...

Baton Rouge firefighters respond to North Street club following building's collapse

August 9 2020

A building housing a night club on North Street partially collapsed late Sunday afternoon and lead to the building's tear down, Baton Rouge Fire officials said.  

Firefighters responded around 5 p.m. to Herson's Private Club in the 3400 block of North Street after part of the building's front and side collapsed.

No one was in the building at the time, and the club has been closed the past several weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Baton Rouge Fire Department spokesman Mark Miles. 

Investigators aren't sure why the building collapsed. 

Officials had to tear the building down because of safety concerns, Miles said.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://newsghana.com.gh/8-people-killed-in-building-collapse-in-eg...

8 people killed in building collapse in Egypt’s Delta city

August 7 2020

At least eight persons were killed after a five-storey building collapsed in the Egyptian Delta city of Mahala, state-run Ahram newspaper reported on Friday.

According to preliminary investigations, the building collapsed and other neighboring three houses cracked due to the digging work with heavy machines for installing sanitation pipes by a private company.

The front walls of the nearby houses were also damaged, the report added, noting that the security and health teams are still searching for more victims under the debris.

Three workers including the sub-contractor have been arrested on accusations of negligence and killing. Four other houses in the area were evacuated of inhabitants amid concern of probable collapse.

The Ministry of Solidarity orders a formation of a compensation committee and transferring the endangered families to a governmental youth dormitory.