Collapsing Buildings and Roadways

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Highway collapse, Jingdong, China, 03.11.25

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]

Gangway Collapses On HMS Belfast

http://londonist.com/2011/11/hmsbelfastcollapse.php

Reports are coming in of an accident on HMS Belfast. Photos from the Thames attraction appear to show that the main gangway has collapsed into the river. The walkway had been undergoing repair. The cause of the collapse is not yet clear.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/nov/29/nat...

7 escape death as building collapses in Lagos

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Seven people cheateddeath on yesterday when a warehouse situated at No. 144, Oba Akran Road in Ikeja area of Lagos collapsed on its occupants.
Daily Sun learnt that the building which belongs to a major importer of frozen fish in Lagos, caved in around mid-day while workers were trying to off- load frozen fishfrom containers into the warehouse.

An eyewitness who was close to the scene of the incident said those injured were casual workers who were paid daily based on the numbers of cartons loaded into the warehouse from the containers.

The witness explained that  there was no initial sign of defection on the building, saying that they were all taken by surprise by the incident.
“It was a new structure that was recently put in place by the management. Loading started about four days ago and each container contains 1400 cartons of fish with each carton weighing 25kg. As at yesterday alone, nine containers were loaded into the warehouse,” he added.

Another witness who identified herself simply as Yemisi said the collapse of the building was caused by  the pressure of the cartons of frozen foods, adding that  “Warehouse for cold rooms are not decked, the pressure of the products was just too heavy for the building and that could have resulted in the collapse.”

She lamented that the collapse resulted in chaos as the workers who were on duty ran for safety.
“Unfortunately, the man who were injured were on the ground floor of the warehouse, but thank God none of them died, but they sustained serious injuries,” she said.
Speaking on the issue, General Manager of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency [LASEMA], Mr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu who was at the scene, said three of the workers who sustained serious injuries were rushed to the Critical Rescue International (CRI), while others were taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for treatment.
He said his team responded promptly to a distress call received, confirming that no life was lost in the unfortunate incident.

“During our course of investigation, we discovered that there were some lapses in the construction of the building. We have checked the building with our machine and we discovered that no one is left in the building. We also used the roll call method. We assembled all the workers and we called their names and also checked their tally numbers which corroborated our findings”, he said
However, a mild drama ensued when Osanyintolu directed the crane to pull down the structure as his order was met by stiff resistance from the workers who almost mobbed him in the process, save for the intervention of some mobile policemen.
The angry workers claimed they had their belongings trapped in the warehouse, fearing that pulling down the structure will leave them with no hope of retrieving them.
T

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Fifteen-injured-in...

Fifteen injured in elevator collapse

KOLKATA: An elevator at Shree Vishuddhanand hospital on Burtolla Road of a charitable hospital in North Kolkata fell from the third floor, injuring the 15 who were inside it, on Sunday evening. Although most of them escaped miraculously with minor injuries, four were hospitalized with broken legs and spine. The incident happened in Shree Vishuddhanand Hospital on Burtolla Road.

Around 7 p.m., visitor were leaving the hospital in large number.

The hospital lift can carry 10 persons but it was overloaded. The lift suddenly dropped down from the third floor creating panic. Those on the ground floor rushed near the lift hearing the loud thud and the screaming from inside the lift.

Visitors as well as hospital staff managed to break the gate of the lift and rescue the 15.

"We were on the third floor when the lift just started dropping without any control. I thought we were all finished. There was nothing to hold onto. It was very scary. I just closed my eyes and kept screaming for help along with the rest. Thank God I came out alive," narrated Puja Gupta. Gupta who had just visited a relative getting treated in the hospital is now admitted here with knee injury.

Police suspect that the iron cables gave away due to ill maintenance and overloadingand also because the lift was carrying more persons than its capacity. A probe is on. Eleven of the injured are woman.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article2663319.ece

Building collapses, roads waterlogged

The Hindu The level of water in the Adyar river rose several feet on Saturday and water flowed over the causeway at Ekkaduthangal. Photo: R.Shivaji Rao

Over 100 calls pertaining to inundation of low-level areas received by Corporation's toll free helpline

Intermittent showers accompanied by strong winds clocking speeds upto 45 – 55 km/hr led to the collapse of an old building, housing a fancy shop, on Bharathi Salai, Triplicane, late Saturday evening. A 25-year-old youth was injured in the incident. A portion of a house adjacent to the building also fell down, police said.

Elsewhere in the city throughout the day the residents had to contend with waterlogged roads, power disruption, and traffic jams. Every spell of the rain on Saturday brought more problems for the road-users, particularly for two-wheeler riders and cyclists as they were forced to take shelter. In the process, the limited space available on the waterlogged roads was further reduced.

With knee deep water on Santhome High Road, traffic police closed the stretch between MRC Nagar and All India Radio. People returning home in the evening were caught for nearly two hours in crawling traffic on Erukkancheri High Road. The Moolakadai junction where a flyover is being constructed witnessed chaotic traffic.

Water-logging on roads led to slow movement of traffic. “It is tough waiting on flyovers. Applying brakes constantly and changing gears only guzzles up fuel. If only water-logging could be prevented at least on the main roads, it would help in better traffic flow,” said M.Anandan, who took nearly an hour to reach Poonamallee High Road from Adyar in the afternoon.

It was a day when autorickshaw drivers benefited the most. Rates almost doubled, even as most commuters felt the shortage of autorickshaws on roads. The traffic on Anna Salai and Cenotaph Road remained busy even afternoon. “Everyone is using the main roads to avoid driving through waterlogged interior roads. But even these are no good,” said Devarajan, an autorickshaw driver in Adyar.

Nungambakkam High Road, Kaliamman Koil Street, Nesapakkam junction, Valluvar Kottam High Road, MGR Salai, Strahans Road in Pattalam and Brick Kiln Road in Otteri were among the roads that had water stagnation and potholes. Over 100 calls pertaining to inundation of low-level areas in the city was received by the Chennai Corporation's toll free helpline 1913. A tree on LB Roa

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id47736/--retaining-wall-c...

Retaining wall collapses in Kelowna

B.C. MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Part of a retaining wall on Highway 97 in Kelowna collapsed recently. Engineers have been dispatched to figure out a repair scheme.

Structural engineers are assessing a section of concrete retaining wall, which collapsed last week on a new road interchange in the southern interior of British Columbia.

“The forensic review of the collapse that is trying to determine what happened is still underway,” said Kevin Baskin, chief bridge engineer with the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

“So, at this point in time, it would be speculation to conclude what has happened.”

A section of the wall on the Westside Road Interchange in Kelowna gave way on Nov. 20, spilling dirt fill onto one of the southbound lanes of Highway 97, underneath the overpass.

Structural engineers from Urban Systems are assessing the wall area and the structure for the ministry to help determine the appropriate course of action.

According to Baskin, Ledcor, the original contractor on the project, has also mobilized a team of engineers to assess the collapse. This team includes engineers from SSL, the supplier of the retaining wall.

“They are responsible for the design of the retaining wall,” explained Baskin. “They will look at what happened and come up with a repair scheme.” The design consultant for the overpass also has engineering experts assessing the structure.

“We want to review the design calculations and methodology, the construction procedure and methodology and the material that was used to make up the wall system,” said Baskin.

“We certainly will be looking at the failure of the wall connection very closely.” The wall system on the road interchange was a mechanically stabilized earth wall. This is a facing system that is connected to and held in place by steel mesh and soil reinforcement.

The steel mesh is connected to the facing panels and the soil reinforcement is placed in layers all the way up the wall.

The Ministry of Transportation has also been monitoring an abutment supported by the wall system, but there has been no movement.

The Westside Road Interchange was temporarily closed to traffic to allow for the engineering assessment. While the assessment and clean-up takes place, traffic southbound on Highway 97 is diverted up the southbound ramp, north on Westside Road, on to Nancee Way and then back to Highway 97.

Construction of the Westside Road Interchange began in 2009 and the overpass opened to traffic late last month.

The projects were managed by the Westbank First Nation and delivered by Ledcor Construction.

The overall value of the Westside Road Interchange project is $41.8 million, with funding from the provincial and federal governments.

British Columbia invested $30.8 million, with a federal contribution of $11 million from the Building Canada Fund.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://blog.georgetownvoice.com/2011/11/24/partial-building-collaps...

Partial building collapse on 1400 block of Wisconsin Ave.

Update, 7:55 p.m.: Wisconsin Avenue has been reopened to traffic in both directions, except for one southbound lane, according to MPD.

Update, 7:00 p.m.: This photo (right) was tweeted by the DC Fire Fighters Association. It shows the rear of 1422 Wisconsin, with visible damage done to the roof.

In May, Georgetown Metropolitan reported a reliable rumor that Z Burger would be opening a third restaurant at 1424 Wisconsin (it already has two restaurants on Wisconsin in Tenleytown and Glover Park), one of the structures affected by the collapse.

Original post, 6:09 p.m.: Late this afternoon, the building located at 1422 Wisconsin Avenue partially collapsed, potentially compromising the structure of 1424 Wisconsin as well. MPD and DC Fire responded to the scene, and traffic on Wisconsin between Dumbarton and Q Streets has been diverted indefinitely. According to the Twitter account of the DC Fire Fighters Association, the gas company is still working to shut off the building’s gas supply.

Hours later, the smell of gas remained in the area, but DC Fire said that a gas explosion was not the cause of the collapse. Firefighters told ABC7 News that the building likely collapsed because its construction was unsound. The owner of a neighboring business told ABC that the building had been vacant and under construction for the last three months. DC Fire officials continue to investigate the cause of the collapse.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.680news.com/news/local/article/303060--workers-freed-aft...

Workers freed after wall collapse

680News staff   Nov 24, 2011 19:50:55 PM

0

Two workers have been freed after they were trapped under a basement wall that collapsed in a building in the northwest end of the city.

It happened just after 5 p.m., Thursday, at 200 Kingsview Boulevard, near Dixon Road and Kipling Avenue.

Police told 680News one worker was freed shortly after the collapse.

It took rescue crews over two hours to free the second person.

EMS crews say they only have information on the condition of one person, who was treated for minor injuries.

 

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011/11/24/road-closed-by-sewer-...

Road closed by sewer collapse

Thursday 24th November 2011, 11:00AM GMT.

A sewer has collapsed in Stafford town centre, sparking repairs which will take a fortnight to complete and hitting traders in the pocket.

Angry shopkeepers are demanding compensation after a 150-yard stretch of Gaol Road has been closed to deal with the problem, wiping out their pre-Christmas trade.

Severn Trent Water, which is responsible for the repairs, said if left, the sewer would cause an even bigger problem, affecting a wider area. The company said it had no choice but to carry out the work immediately.

Some shopkeepers claim they will lose several thousand pounds a week at what is traditionally their busiest time of year.

Stuart Winfer, of Carpet Time, said he had not had a customer all week. “There are about eight businesses along the affected section and this has completely disrupted our trade,” he said.

“People just can’t get through – it’s like a war zone down here.”

He said it was the second time recently that the road, near Stafford Prison, had been dug up after a six-week programme of repairs earlier this year to replace gas mains. Severn Trent spokeswoman Amy Weiser said today: “The collapsed sewer, if left unrepaired, would have an impact on the service we can provide to our customers and could potentially damage the foundations of the road, so the work must be done immediately.

“There are a lot of other utilities – phone lines, gas mains, and so on –   very near to the sewer so we do have to work carefully to avoid causing a bigger problem, but repairs are on schedule, and our workers are doing all they can to accommodate local businesses.

“Although the road is closed to through traffic, access to the businesses is being maintained and we’ve put extra signage up.”

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=751576&publicati...

Road collapses in Tibet, trapping hundreds of cars, people

 

LHASA (Xinhua) --  A section of a major road in northwest China's Tibet autonomous region collapsed Thursday morning, trapping hundreds of vehicles and people but causing no injuries, local police said.

 

At about 11:20 a.m. Thursday morning, a landslide occurred on a section of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway in Bomi county, said Liu Wanlin, a county police officer.

 

The landslide caused a 31-meter-long, seven-meter-wide section of the road to collapse, with a 1,500-cubic-meter pile of debris blocking the road. Over 100 vehicles and 400 people are now trapped on the road, Liu said.

 

Rescuers have rushed to the site to clean up the landslide and allow traffic to resume. Traffic is expected to be resumed by late Thursday, as good weather conditions will allow the road to be cleaned and repaired quickly.

 

The Sichuan-Tibet Highway is a key road in the region. The Bomi section of the road is known to be dangerous, with landslides and floods reported every year.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.gazettebw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti...

Gaborone-Mogoditshane road collapses

Traffic along the newly constructed Gaborone-Molepolole road came to a standstill after it collapsed last Friday. This caused traffic congestions as the lane for traffic to Molepolole was closed and drivers were forced to use Western Bypass which was also stressed by traffic. Drivers feared for their lives. “This is a disturbing situation. I am no longer sure whether I am driving on safe roads or one day I will be stuck in a collapsing road. I really fear for my life. Driving on our roads is a nightmare. If it is not potholes, the road is collapsing. What could have happened if the road collapsed while a car was passing? This really shows that our roads are of low quality,” said Kaelo Matomela. One passing pedestrians noted that even those on foot were at risk. Staring at the gaping hole in the middle of the road, he noted that, “This road is new and already is collapsing. What about the other old roads?  Are they safe to be used? It is a horrifying situation.” The acting Director of Roads Mmoloki Baele blamed the Esorfranki Company, which is currently on operations of pipe jacking along Gaborone-Mogoditshane Road by Segoditshane River, for the mishap. “The Esorfranki Company is currently on operation on behalf of waste management and pollution control to put the pipes underneath the road. These pipes will channel the waste to the sewage network system. To do so they have to drill underneath the road and put their pipes there, this whole drilling might somehow impacted on the road therefore leading to this collapse,” noted Baele. However, Esorfranki representative, who preferred to remain anonymous, insisted in an interview with The Gazette that their pipes are three meters below the base of the road, which is the recommended length. He noted that the road is built on a water logged area. “During our operation we leant that there was a high water table underground. The water streamed between our pipes and the base of the road. What happened here is that the water washed away the soil between our pipes and the base of the road, leaving empty spaces or holes which caused this collapse,” indicated Esorfranki representative. According to the press release from Ministry of Transport and Communication the road is not safe as the collapse has caused the pavement to be unstable therefore there is a possibility that the road will be closed off until there is an assurance that it is safe for road users.