Collapsing Buildings and Roadways

[Starr DiGiacomo]

 

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/world/asia/bangladesh-building-collapse.html?hp&_r=0

 

Published: April 24, 2013

NEW DELHI — An eight-story building in Bangladesh that housed several garment factories collapsed on Wednesday morning, killing at least 70 people, injuring hundreds of others, and leaving an unknown number of people trapped in the rubble, according to Bangladeshi officials and media outlets.... http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/world/asia/bangladesh-building-co...

 

So much happening under our feet.  Daily collapses of roadways due to the severe bow stretch, severe rains, crunching and land subduction all predicted in Zetatalk and all happening now.  Last week in Utah a fatal road collapse killed a 14 year old girl and injured 2.  It's painful to watch the planet crumble but we all knew it was coming.

Buildings collapsing.........a daily happening too.  With responses about what's causing all these happenings ranging from, rain, human error, poorly constructed, yada yada.....BUT, that's not going to fly with people much longer.  As soon as Planet X peers out at us from the sky, people will remember all the things that have happened up to this point and finally somehow, they will connect the dots.  Some will be in extreme denial, others will be so afraid and look for someone to take care of them, and still others will stand up and be counted and prepare as best we could.  There's no wishing this away, there's only pushing forward to a better tomorrow.  While our infrastructure crumbles around us we need to learn to be more careful, tread softly, kiss your kids, love with all your heart.  We are IN IT NOW.

I live in a house built in 1850 and it isn't falling down.  Age does not mean collapse. 

100-year-old building partially collapses in Malone

By: Rachael Paradis

A building in Malone that has been standing for more than a century will no longer be a sight in the town. The building on Route 11, well known to many in the community, collapsed overnight. While no one was injured, our Rachael Paradis tells us why the town is in a rush to tear it down.

MALONE, N.Y. -- Neighbors in Malone stood in surprise, took pictures and even shared stories of a once popular tavern that started to crumble early Monday morning.

County Legislator Billy Jones said, "It's an old structure, it was a structure that was obviously unsafe."

The tavern/hotel was built in the early 1900'. It has been closed to the public for about 15 years and was condemned six months ago.

Franklin County Emergency Services Director Rick Provost, "We're unsure what occurred last night at 3 a.m. What we do know is this building has been on our list of buildings with issues."

Jones said, "Old things fall down."

Police closed off part off Route 11 to traffic and to people, out of concern the rest of the building could fall down. Some in the community voiced concern over why this building, along with others like it in the area that haven't already been demolished. Officials say it comes down to money.

Provost said, "The high cost of abatement for these buildings really makes it tough for the county or the village to take those burdens on."

Jones, "We just have to come up with a plan to start taking some of these building down so we don't run into this problem going forward."

The demolition is only expected to take hours, but cleaning up the area is a different issue. Officials say it could be weeks before the site is completely cleared.

http://centralny.ynn.com/content/top_stories/551123/100-year-old-bu...

 

 LAKE ELSINORE: Water leak causes street collapse

 

10:00 PM PDT on Friday, July 22, 2011

By GENE GHIOTTO
The Press-Enterprise

Temporary repairs to a section of Joy Street in Lake Elsinore are in place today after a 1-inch water line gave way, causing 80 feet of the roadway to collapse and the asphalt to buckle.

The leak, caused by a 6 to 8-inch diameter tree root, was reported late Thursday in a line that leads to several duplexes on Joy between Machado Street and Riverside Drive, and behind Machado Elementary School.

Water service was restored to the 34 customers early Friday morning, said Greg Morrison, spokesman for the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.

Water district and contractor crews spent much of Friday removing the damaged asphalt on the southbound side of Joy and laying down a temporary patch. The road was opened in both directions by late afternoon.

"That way the road will be open completely for the entire weekend," Morrison said.

Crews will return Monday and trench from curb to curb to permanently repair the 1-inch line.

On Tuesday, a paving company will remove the patch, put down new base and repave one side of Joy, Morrison said. Work on the other side will take place on Wednesday.

"That way on Tuesday and Wednesday we'll be able to keep on

 

http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_spipe23.38e27e6...

Windhorst, Parsons Roadway Collapse: Cautious Testing Continues

County workers are testing for sinkholes but the work is proceeding methodically because of utility lines at the intersection, according to a Hillsborough County spokesman.

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.

http://brandon.patch.com/articles/windhorst-parsons-roadway-collaps...

Sewer collapse closes part of Lexington Road

At least one eastbound lane of Road near Etley Avenue and Cave Hill Cemetery will be closed during Thursday morning’s rush hour after a 48-inch brick sewer collapsed Wednesday evening.

Crews noticed a depression in the road before discovering the sewer had collapsed, and the area will be excavated Thursday morning, said Metropolitan Sewer District Executive   Bud Schardein.

He said it was too early to tell what caused the collapse, but age was a likely factor. That part of the sewer was built in the 1880s and could have been weakened from an unusually wet spring.

“With all the wet weather we’ve had this past spring, that has a tendency to undermine the mortar,” Schardein said.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110720/NEWS01/307200099/Se...

 

Road collapse might have killed Colorado family

Rebecca Martinez (2011-07-20)

CARBON COUNTY (wpr) - Engineers say a large section of Wyoming highway where four Colorado family members plunged to their deaths might have totally collapsed in a matter of minutes.

It had been raining for hours Monday night when local authorities warned the Constantinides family, among others, about potential flood conditions near North Brush Creek Campground around midnight.

Not long afterward, the family's van drove into a washed-out portion of Wyoming highway 130 and was swept about 75 yards down Brush Creek. Laurel Constantindies and her three daughters died.

The husband and father, Alex Constantindies, who had grown up in Laramie, survived and escape the vehicle. He and a passerby later rescued Carbon County Emergency management Coordinator John Ziegler, whose car washed out while he was trying to assist in flood protection efforts.

Ziegler said he was "very fortunate" to have survived.

Bruce Burrows of the Wyoming Transportation Department says engineers are studying what happened to the roadway early Tuesday morning. He says preliminary assessments indicate the creek swollen with rain and snowmelt may have undermined the roadway over some hours and then gouged a 25-foot-wide, 9-foot-deep hole in a matter of minutes.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wpr/news.newsmain/article/1/0/183...

Yunnan road test the opening day collapse resulting in four deaths and injuries

8, Yunnan” in the history of the most short-lived highway “a serious collapse destroyed sections of the site. After investigation, the highway there in time duration and other issues. Xinhua News Agency reporters Chen Hai and Ning She

Recently, Yunnan Province, Internet users post, said the new Xinping county secondary road test three estuary opening day collapse occurs, resulting in 2 dead 2 injured. Internet users have questioned this “the most short-lived highway” Why just fix it collapsed, was “too much rain” or “bad way”?

After the incident, Yunnan Provincial Department and the Transportation Department were dispatched to investigate a group of experts, the group that really belongs to all “natural disasters caused by heavy rainfall.”

collapse of the vehicle crash on

recently, Internet users “pass,” said Post, June 27, Xinping County of Yuxi City, three city secondary road test the opening of the estuary collapse occurred the next day, resulting in a vehicle passing through here turn under the cliff, killing two people died inside the car and two others injured, highway interrupted. For the cause of the accident, the local government is a single point of heavy rain caused by a natural disaster.

7 8, correspondent along the new road to the scene three, the road there are construction workers on the highway guardrail, drainage and other construction, from time to time some sections of earth and rock rolled down from the hills.

close to the scene of the accident, the construction set up roadblocks on the road side. In the new three road K25 +450 to K26 +480 road, the reporter saw a total of three road damage, including two collapsed, a surface crack. Road accident at the hillside, two-way four-lane have collapsed, a lot of rocks, soil and concrete was rushed into the street of the valley.

“red water collapsed roadbed”

Zhang Xinping County Department of Transportation Secretary BU has introduced three new roads through villages and towns in Xinping County 8 19 village committees, with a total mileage of 90 kilometers . Road along the fragile geology, disasters, floods and geological disasters have been more serious.

accidents mainly due to heavy rains led to a single point of soft roadbed, road ditches and culverts to be above the blockage, and finally the formation of water as a waterfall of impact, resulting in collapse of highway roadbed.

Bu there are rules that highway design, construction and supervision units are selected strictly in accordance with the bidding system, procedural compliance and found no serious design flaws, quality of construction or supervision of omissions.

collapse occurred Sections of the construction unit project manager Jiangzu Long introduction, the unit will subcontract work to the successful construction services company, the project head of engineering equipment and materials, and is responsible for management and technical guidance, service company only the labor force, which is not labor sub-subcontract, the state permitted by law.

he said, in strict accordance with design drawings for construction, engineering, quality is no problem, Lu Jisong soft infiltration and erosion is mainly caused by the floods.

no quality problems, experts say

afterwards, Yunnan Provincial Department and the Transportation Department were sent experts to the scene. The Group believes that: section of the incident transverse slope steep terrain, poor geological conditions, heavy rainfall increased the hydrostatic pressure, the formation of collapse, is a heavy rainfall-induced natural disasters.

Yunnan Provincial Communications Department who participated in the survey, experts say, from the survey of the situation, roadbed, retaining wall strength and so meet the requirements and found no quality problems.

subsidy investigation in time duration for the fight

accused of the most short-lived road not approved the first building, not the acceptance that the opening test

Reporter learned that the investigation, three new road opened in October 2009 to build, and design in May 2010 before the Provincial Communications Department has been approved, there is “not approved prior to construction” and “time duration” issue. Not hand over the road in case of acceptance of test traffic violations, and plans to be held on 30 June the opening ceremony, canceled after the accident.

construction personnel, three new road along the geological environment is complex, time is short, heavy task in building a post, Xinping shouted “make a big quick-drying 60 days,” the slogan of the progress of the projects Forced , post workers overtime work.

what makes engineering so catch it? Reporters learned that, in addition to travel to meet the requirements of the masses, more important reason is that for national road toll for the abolition of two grants. According to the policy, the new secondary roads shall be June 30 this year, opened to traffic, or can not enjoy the state’s two highway toll abolition of subsidies.

http://www.cnkeyword.info/yunnan-road-test-the-opening-day-collapse...

Details Emerge in Deadly Road Collapse

Cheyenne : WY : USA | Jul 20, 2011

 

Engineers say a large section of Wyoming highway where four Colorado family members plunged to their deaths may have totally collapsed in a matter of minutes. Bruce Burrows of the Wyoming Transportation Department says engineers are studying what happened to state Route 130 over South Brush Creek... FULL ARTICLE AT KSAZ

http://www.allvoices.com/news/9730810-details-emerge-in-deadly-road...

 

 

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://austrianindependent.com/news/General_News/2012-03-02/10462/W...

02. 03. 12. - 16:20

Wine cellars disappear into the deep

Two historic wine pressing houses disappeared into the ground during the night yesterday (Thurs/Fri) in Austria. A local resident noticed the partly collapsed wineries in the early hours of this morning (Friday). The ground beneath the old buildings had been weakened as a result of a burst water pipe.

The street of wine cellars in Groß Kadholz, one of the oldest parts of the Pulkautal region in Austria, was completely closed off this morning for fears of further collapse. Several metres of the local road disappeared as well as the two houses. The historical buildings contained the oldest wine presses in the area but are now in a state of disrepair.

General wear and tear of the old buildings, as well as a water pipe damaged by frost, are being held responsible for the incident. The main water pipe running through the street, which had been damaged by cold weather, had been cut off completely on Wednesday. It was too late however and the large amounts of water escaping from the broken pipe flowed into the cellars.

The soaked walls eventually gave way in the middle of the night on Thursday causing the floors to fall into the sodden ground, taking much of the contents of the upstairs with them. The extent and cost of the damage is not yet known and experts are currently working to establish the exact cause of the collapse.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.punchng.com/news/two-killed-in-anambra-building-collapse/

Two killed in Anambra building collapse

March 2, 2012 by Emmanuel Obe, Awka 2 Comments

Two bodies were pulled out of the debris of a building which collapsed in Awka, the Anambra State capital, on Thursday.

Five other people were brought out alive with varying degrees of injuries from the rubble of the two-storey building which was under construction at the time of its collapse.

The victims were mainly workers, who were working on the decking of the second floor when the building collapsed, trapping no fewer than 12 of them.

The timely arrival of men and equipment of the Consolidated Construction Company Limited, who were later joined by officials of the Anambra State Emergency Management Agency, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian Red Cross Society, Boys Brigade and the men of the state Fire Service aided the rescue operation.

A survivor, Mr. Austin Amoah, who had serious leg injuries, said 15 workers were on site before the collapse. Another survivor, Mr. Sunday Oko, also recalled his miraculous survival.

Another survivor identified as Solomon from Edo State was brought out alive with minor injuries.

The director of the state emergency management agency, Dr. Justin Ijezie, confirmed the incident.

He said, “I was just coming from my office in CCC to enter my car and I heard a huge sound; it was a bang. We were the first set of people that came for rescue and there was hardly nothing we could do so we had to seek help from our management.

“The few people that we were able to rescue so far were through the assistance of the management of our company, CCC, and the FRSC.”

The Police Public Relations officer in the state, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, said he wept at the scene of the incident. “This is because I discovered that the materials being used are substandard. Everything about the building is substandard.

The PPRO said, “It is high time government began to look into the building designs and capacity of projects. The materials are substandard and must have led to the collapse of the building.” continued:

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=495577&type=Metro

Construction site collapse tilts building, leaks gas

By Ni Yinbin  |   2012-3-1

A construction site in suburban Songjiang District collapsed on Tuesday afternoon, causing underground gas pipes to leak and a nearby office building to tilt, officials confirmed yesterday.

The collapse also caused serious cracks on Laiyin Road.

The gas leak was repaired and the tilting building was stabilized, said a district spokesman surnamed Mei.

The collapse was blamed on digging work inside the construction area, the government said. The accident happened about 4:30pm at the construction site near 1881 Laiyin Road, Qixinke Industry Park.

"There was a cracking sound since morning, and I didn't realize what was going on until a series of cracking steel bars," said a witness surnamed Wang, who works on the third floor of a building near the scene.

Wang then looked out the window and saw the collapse. Wang's building was evacuated for safety concerns. Serious cracks were soon found on the walls of Wang's building, which later tilted to the north. A separate security room for the building sank by more than 1 meter.

A part of Laiyin Road about 50 meters long, 5 meters wide and 2 meters deep collapsed, which caused the leak of the natural gas pipe below, officials said.

A strong smell of gas permeated the area. Traffic police cordoned the area and the emergency crew of the city's gas company was called in. The emergency was lifted about 5pm, Mei said.

"The staff closed the leaking gas pipe immediately," Mei said. "As most of the pipes were spare ones, the accident didn't affect the gas supply in the area."

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/190387--p...

A construction collapse at 700 University Ave. closed the street at College for about an hour before reopening again. It's the building that houses Ontario Power Generation. CITYNEWS.

2/29/2012

http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/190387--p...

Part of a building that houses the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) on University Avenue at College collapsed Wednesday morning.  While the damage looked dramatic, an OPG spokesman says the incident doesn’t pose any danger to the building or the people inside.

Witness Pia Famiglietti was getting off the subway, headed to Mount Sinai Hospital, when it happened around 10:30 a.m.

 “I just got off the subway … and when I was walking by it just started to crunch and come down a little bit. I called 911 — it was scary,” she said. “I thought the building was collapsing. I wasn’t sure what was going on.”

Some large pieces of drywall on an overhang at 700 University Ave. fell, prompting police to cordon off the area and temporarily close the southbound lanes of the busy street. The area has since reopened to traffic.

"A portion of the building, which is under construction, has collapsed. It’s described as a roof," Toronto Police Const. Wendy Drummond said.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Garden wall collapse shocks homeowner

http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/local-headlines/garden_wall_collaps...

The Leslie wall in the UK collapsed

Published on Wednesday 29 February 2012 10:44

A retired teacher is counting the cost of his garden wall mysteriously collapsing, reports KEVIN QUINN.

Mr Hood woke to find the garden wall of his home on Leslie High Street lying in the adjacent Back Braes, with no obvious reason for its collapse.

Mr Hood was still surprised at the demise of his back wall.

He said: “It happened on Thursday night. I don’t know how it happened.

“I had looked at the wall a few months ago and it didn’t look as if there was anything wrong with it.

“I’m getting a guy to come and look at it today. It’s the homeowner’s responsibility, unfortunately for me.

“It could be quite costly. It wont be pennies, that’s for sure, more likely thousands.”

Mr Hood tried to think of an explanation for this incident, pointing out similar problems with other properties close by.

He said: “Their tends to be a lot of water plains down the Back Braes. It was re-aligned in the nineties.

“If you walk along the Back Braes you can see quite a few walls patched up. A lot of patching up at the Douglas Road end.

“It’s probably just the age of it.

“As far as I know the council wont do anything about it. I don’t know who to approach about the water in the Back Braes.”

New Leslie Community Council chair John Wincott would like to have a meeting with Fife Council to get to the bottom of this problem.

He said: “I’m concerned that there seems to be more of this type of damage occurring throughout the village.

“I want to arrange a meeting with Fife Council about this.

“People have come to me complaining about damage done to buildings in Leslie by the quarry blasting, but I would be worried if somewhere so far away was damaged by the quarry, but it’s difficult to say.

“It doesn’t look like this has been caused by just subsidence. And I would be really surprised if it is a result of blasting.

“But I would definitely like to speak to the council about this.”

[Starr DiGiacomo]

At Least 4 People Killed in Building Collapse in Northern Syria

http://www.ubalert.com/a/84151

DAMASCUS -- State-run SANA news agency reported that at least four people were killed while seven others were reportedly missing on Monday following the collapse of a four-story building in Aleppo city. SANA said the bodies of the victims have been pulled out from the rubble of the toppled building located in Aleppo's Beideen neighborhood. Five people were rescued but seven others remain buried under the heaps of debris. Aleppo Governor Moufaq Khallouf attributed the collapse to the llegal construction of an additional story onto the three-story apartment building. Khallouf urged residents to evacuate immediately so restoration efforts can start in order to avoid repetition of such disaster.

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-02/27/c_131434459.htm

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Catholic Church Collapses, Kills Two

http://www.radiovop.com/index.php/national-news/8345-catholic-churc...

Kadoma, February 28, 2012 - Two women died last week here after the roof of a Roman Catholic Church building under construction collapsed due to heavy winds and rains that pounded the town.

The women identified as Faith Mlonyeni and Esnath Motsi, were attending a church gathering. They died from head injuries while 10 others are still in hospital, four of them critical.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse of the building and residents are calling for an investigation.

Domingo Mugwagwa a local resident said: "Church and council officials must be quizzed with other church members describing the collapse of the building as a 'scandal'.
 

Rosemary Kamutiga said the building had again collapsed in 2010 and queried why the plan had not been revisited.

Church officials and the town council officials who approve building constructions were not immediately available for comment.

2nd incident

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2012/02/2...

Labrador school closed by partial ceiling collapse

Deputy mayor of Charlottetown says new building needed to replacing aging facility in town

Posted: Feb 28, 2012 6:04 AM NT

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2012/02/27/business-prec...

Engineers assess road collapse

Australia, David Low Way road collapse, 27th February 2012

10.25AM  UPDATE: MAIN Roads engineers and council maintenance crews this morning made initial assessment of what will be required to re-open the busy David Low Way after a section of the road collapsed at about 6pm Sunday.

Swift flowing water pouring out of the national park just north of the Coolum Soccer Club grounds have eroded away stormwater pipes under the coastal road causing significant collapse of the southbound lane.

However erosion of supporting soil around the pipe extends further than that.

Roadtek engineers on the scene at 7.30am today said repair would be difficult until the swift flow of water ceased.

A decision will be taken later today on the schedule for repair work and whether there is any value in constructing a temporary diversion.

That short term fix may require significant engineering which could negate its value.

Council maintenance superintendent Paul Tarrant said water flowing under the road followed a water course that carried it back south and into Stumers Creek.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120224/NEW...

Building wall collapses in Port Jervis

Published: 2:00 AM - 02/24/12

DAWN J. BENKO/For the Times Herald-Record

A wall collapse on a Front Street building in Port Jervis left an alleyway filled with bricks and metal Thursday. According to Senior Code Enforcement Officer Wayne Kidney, a leaky gutter caused the back wall to fall off 46-48 Front St. Kidney said after repeated freezing and thawing overnight, the weight of the metal fire escape attached to the back wall most likely collapsed it. Business owners discovered the collapse Thursday morning. Kidney said the H&R Block at 50-52 Front St. temporarily will be vacated pending a decision on the damaged building. Kidney said it was in foreclosure and had been vacant for more than a year. The building likely will be razed.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.gazette.com/news/forcing-134031-road-detour.html

Road collapses, forcing closure of U.S. Highway 24

February 23, 2012 12:25 PM

A temporary detour road collapsed Thursday morning, forcing the closure of U.S. Highway 24 between Falcon and Peyton. The road is expected to be closed at least until Friday.

The road's collapse was not related to Thursday morning's snowfall, according to El Paso County Engineer Andre Brackin, who consulted with Colorado Department of Transportation officials.

Eastbound travelers on Highway 24 are being directed to detour by going east on Judge Orr Road and then north on Peyton Highway. According to CDOT's website, Highway 24 is closed between milemarkers 322-327.

Highway 24 was closed at 7:50 a.m., according to CDOT's website.

"We had this detour plan already in place just in case it was needed for whatever reason," Brackin said.

The short section of two-lane detour road that collapsed was being used while the bridge halfway between Falcon and Peyton -- commonly known as the "Green Bridge" -- is being rebuilt over a tributary of Black Squirrel Creek.

Lawrence Construction is building the new bridge, Brackin said.

"The detour ride around where the bridge is being constructed is paved and it's less than a mile long," Brackin said. "My guess is the collapse had nothing to do with the snowstorm. When the snow is gone -- whether it has to be removed or melts -- is when the road will be repaired. The state is dealing with the problem. It's probably a 24-hour job to fix the detour road."