Collapsing Buildings and Roadways

[Starr DiGiacomo]

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]

5 houses collapse, cyclonic winds cause havoc in Bicholim

Sep 4, 2011

 

BICHOLIM: Heavy rains accompanied by cyclonic winds caused havoc in Bicholim taluka with villagers suffering losses estimated in lakhs of rupees. One person also suffered injuries in a related mishap.

Five houses collapsed, while plantations and fields were submerged under water. The Bicholim and Sanquelim river has also crossed the danger mark as all four gates of Anjunem dam were opened to avoid further danger. The water level in the Bicholim tributary also rose up to road level.

The main road at Mencurem, Dhumasem and Sal was also submerged under water, causing inconvenience to traffic for nearly four hours. Bicholim fire station personnel were kept on their toes in rescue operations. All the four lift irrigation water pumps at Sanquelim river were pressed into service to prevent the flood water from entering the market.

A man from Keri-Sattari Manohar Ladu Majik, 30, suffered serious injuries while he was on his way to office at Mayem. Majik was riding his scooter, when a wall belonging to a roadside house collapsed and fell on him.

He was rushed to the primary health centre, Bicholim, by 108 ambulance and later shifted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim. The house owner Babli Raut suffered a loss of ' 25,000.

In another incident, Uttam Gaonkar from Paltadwada-Kudchirem suffered a loss of ' 50,000 after the wall of a neighbouring house collapsed onto his own. The neighbour also suffered a loss of ' 1 lakh.

The protection wall of Dempo building, behind the Bicholim police station, also collapsed as a huge tree fell on it.

Bicholim MLA Rajesh Patnekar, deputy collector Narayan Gad, Mayem MLA Anant Shet, Pale MLA Pratap Gawas and others visited the flood affected areas and took stock of the situation.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/5-houses-collapse-cyclo...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

North State Road Collapse Not Easy To Repair

by Tien-Shun Lee 09/03/11

A large sinkage hole on North State Road will take at least two months to repair, village Manager Philip Zegarelli said.

Photo credit: Tien-Shun Lee

BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y. – A large sinkage on North State Road between Route 9A and Pleasantville Road will likely take two months or more to fix, village Manager Philip Zegarelli said.

"This is not just an easy 'Let's just throw in a few yards of concrete'... There's a gas line, water main, sewer main, electrical oil static line and (Department of Transportation) junction boxes for signals all in that one spot. It has to be redesigned to match what the needs are of today," Zegarelli said.

The village manager called the area where the sinkage is a "culvert," meaning that there is an underground opening there, fed by a few water pipes, where water collects before flowing out through a larger pipe.

During Hurricane Irene, the ground around the culvert eroded, causing the road above it to collapse, Zegarelli said.

Since the road where the sinkage occurred is a major east-west linkage in Briarcliff, school bus companies have been advised to reschedule bus times to fit alternate routes, Zegarelli added.

"It's going to take a minimum of two months before the road is open," the village manager said. "There's a DOT component, a utility component, we've got to bring Con Ed in, and a sewage line has to be rerouted there. The strategy is, 'What is the best long-term solution to a very difficult problem?'"

Peggy Minnis, a professor of environmental science and chemistry at Pace University said that sink holes form when the ground becomes saturated with water and the soil begins to act as a fluid medium rather than a solid.

"Soils are fragile, and in the case of roads, very often they have used fill material, and it could be fragile," Minnis said. "There's a whole world underneath the road, and nobody could really tell you unless you dug up that road and did a post mortem why a sink hole formed."

Geologically speaking, the North State Road hole is "sinkage" rather than a "sink hole," Zegarelli said, because water had not gutted out a hole, but rather eroded around an already established hole.

Another hole that formed during Hurricane Irene on River Road was a real sink hole where the water created "a quicksand type of situation," Zegarelli said. The hole measured six feet wide and five feet deep, and was much easier to fix because there are no pipes or control boxes there.

Village officials are currently seeking help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair the North State Road hole.

"This falls right into the category of FEMA. When they come in to help you restore things, they want to see you fix them so it doesn't happen again," Zegarelli said.

In 1999, Hurricane Floyd caused the same part of North State Road to cave in, Zegarelli said.

http://www.thedailytarrytown.com/news/nort

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Fazilka flood claimed 700 houses, 2 lives

HUSSAINIWALA While Fazilka villages are still facing flood fury, damage in the villages of Ferozepur is also extensive with flood waters affecting about 20 villages each in Hussainiwala and Mallanwala areas as well as six villages in Guru-Har-Sahai.

Floods have led to the collapse of about 700 houses, death of two persons and 40 cattle were washed away. While one middle-aged man died due to a house collapse, another drowned in Gheerawala village.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dr S Karuna Raju, “We are yet to locate the families of the deceased. As of now, we are busy in removing the dead carcasses because they can cause an epidemic in the area. Water has started receding now, so health measures are more important. Already, medical camps are flooded with cases of skin ailments and mild fever.” The Ferozepur administration had spent around Rs 40 lakh from flood relief funds and will need another Rs 30 lakh, the DC added.

About three weeks ago, one bridge each has been washed away at Hazarewala and Gatti Rajoke. Though a temporary structure has been erected, it is unsafe. Balbir Singh, a resident of Churiwala village, said: “No one dares to walk on this structure. Construction on a new bridge had started about an year ago, but it is yet to be completed. Had the work been completed in time, we would not have suffered this much.”

The villagers either park their vehicles away from the bridge and walk for few kilometres to reach their destination or they take a boat. Jarnail Singh, another villager, said: “Every year, during the rainy season, our villages suffer the most and still do not have better infrastructure. The damage to these two bridges has affected the transportation in about 15 villages.” The affected villages included Chandiwala, Kamalewala, Rajoke, Bhakra, Khunderwala and Chinesinghwala Jhuge.

According to preliminary reports, 27,000 acres of crop has been affected - the damage will be assessed in a week. Road network between 45 villages has also resulted in damage worth crores.

The villagers, meanwhile, are unhappy with the compensation they are being given for their loss.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/fazilka-flood-claimed-700-h...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Wall collapse kills five in Mumbai

PTI Sep 3, 2011, 07.17pm IST

MUMBAI: Five teenagers were killed on Saturday after a compound wall collapsed in Sewree in South Mumbai following incessant rains in the metropolis.

The incident took place around 2.30pm when the Jubilee Mill compound wall at T J Road collapsed killing the youngsters, officials from disaster management cell of the Brihnamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

The deceased have been identified as Sayeed Ali Shaha (11), Noor Mohammed Shaha (18), Ghulam Moinuddin Majiula Khan (12), Adnan Hasan (12) and Shaufiq Sheikh (17).

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-03/mumbai/30110...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Beechview Water Main Break Causes Damage Throughout Neighborhood

 

Water Main Break In Beechview Causes Road Collapse, Other Damages

Posted: 11:43 am EDT August 31, 2011Updated: 3:38 pm EDT August 31, 2011

BEECHVILLE, Pa. -- A water main break in Beechview has caused major damage to property on Kenberma Street.The road collapsed due to excess amounts of water, trapping some people’s vehicles in their driveways.“It definitely disturbs me. I do have things that I have to do. I have things to attend to. I have errands that I run,” Nicole Burks said.Tom Ferrieri’s house and yard was affected by the water main break.“The deck moved about 3 inches,” Ferrieri said. “And in my pool, the sand’s washed out from underneath. There was so much water coming through my yard, to me it looked like a river.”On Wednesday morning officials said cleanup crews were at the scene removing debris and people were taking damage assessments.“We’ll probably have to take the pool down, the fence down,” Ferrieri said. “It’s just a big mess.”

http://www.wpxi.com/news/29038320/detail.html

[Starr DiGiacomo]

 

 

 

 

 

Vineland dam in danger

 

VINELAND -- City and county emergency workers braced late Monday night for an anticipated collapse of Willow Grove Lake dam here at the Cumberland and Salem county border.

 Shortly before 6 p.m., Cumberland County issued an advisory that repair efforts were losing ground to fast-moving floodwater. 

 "They can't keep up with it anymore," county spokeswoman Kim Wood said. 

 Wood said there was no time estimate for a collapse, but that there was a "strong possibility" it would happen. 

 "The water then is going to move swiftly down Maurice River (Parkway) and Riverside Drive," Wood said. "That's where the concern is." 

 The National Guard was on the scene late Monday evening to help local crews try to hold the dam and roadway together.

"We've done repair work throughout the day, trying to shore up damage to the roadway," Vineland fire Chief Robert Pagnini said Monday evening. "There still is a strong possibility we may lose the roadway completely."

We're continuing to bring in loads of rock to stabilize that," said Pagnini, who also is Vineland Office of Emergency Management coordinator. "But we continue to have water flowing over the road and undermining the surface. So it is a battle against Mother Nature. We're using riprap, 8-inch rock. Anything smaller than that will be washed away."

Water spilled over the top of Willow Grove Lake dam on both the Cumberland and Salem sides, menacingly circling nearby homes and prompting evacuations.

When portions of the road gave way, Cumberland County officials ordered the delivery of more than 150 tons of stone from Garoppo Stone and Garden Center to stabilize the road and help brace the dam.

"It's a critical situation," Cumberland County Freeholder Director William Whelan said.

One section of the road that collapsed ran from the road's center yellow line to the shoulder, Whelan said.

Some Vineland residents pulled their cars out of flooded driveways and parked them farther down along on Weymouth Road ready for a quick get away, if needed.

Joan Giocondo watched the water surround the house she has called home nearly all her life. Her sentimental attachment to the house compounded the emotional toll of the flooding.

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20110830/NEWS01/108300328

[Starr DiGiacomo]

IRENE: Roof collapse floods two downtown New Bern NC buildings

August 29, 2011 1:21 PM

Some time Saturday water on the roof of the Prudential Clear Water Realty building on Craven Street caused the roof to collapse, flooding that building and the city’s Dunn Building next door.

Monday city workers and Environmental Corp. were at the two buildings pumping water out of the basements.

John Staten Jr., New Bern public building maintenance supervisor, was assessing the damage in the Dunn Building on Monday morning. He said Environmental Corp. was there because the flooded basements have hydraulic fluid in the water from the elevators in both buildings.

When the roof collapsed at the Prudential building, causing a 30-foot hole, it broke a four-inch main water line supplying the water sprinklers, Staten said.

By Sunday morning, the water had reached the first floor of the Prudential building and was about 10 inches behind the door that opens on the sidewalk.

The water from the basement of Prudential went into the Dunn Building basement right beside it and was about 10 feet deep, Staten estimated.

“It’s a nightmare,” he said.

The Dunn Building houses the tax office and planning and inspections. City employees were still working in the building Monday morning.

Only cleanup workers were in the Prudential building. Inside the first floor office there are soaked carpets, debris and water damaged furniture and computes.

Jason Sanderson, owner of Prudential Clear Water Realty, said someone called him after the Hurricane Saturday evening and said water was coming out of the door of the office building and running into the street.

When Sanderson got to his office, he said he didn’t know what to do.

“It is gone,” he said. “Everything is completely totaled.”

The eight-foot basement of the building was filled with water and there was about three feet of water in Sanderson’s office at the back of the building before the water busted the wall and drained out, he said.

Sixteen agents and three secretaries work from the Prudential building. Sanderson said he is going to try to relocate his business this week to office space beside Carolina Bagels on Trent Road. He plans to be there for about 45 or 50 days, he said.

Sanderson said he hopes he can rebuild and move back to Craven Street in a few months.

http://www.newbernsj.com/news/roof-100028-collapse-building.html

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Mudslide wrecks buildings on Brunswick Road, multiple streets evacuated VIDEO

 By James V. Franco
The Record

Click to enlarge

TROY — A massive mudslide did extensive damage to two houses and a destroyed a garage on Brunswick Road Sunday shortly after 4 p.m.

As a precaution, dozens of families on Highland and Brunswick avenues, located on top of the rain-soaked hill that collapsed, were evacuated.

“At first I thought it was an earthquake because I felt the small one a few days prior but when it started shaking as drastically as it was I knew it wasn’t that and then I heard the trees hitting the side of the house and everything started to collapse,” said John Newcomb, who was sitting in his living room at 13 Brunswick Road. “So I just started to run and busting through anything that was blocked to get the people out. Everyone in the building is safe and that’s all that matters.

As he was standing in the Stewarts parking lot barefoot he said there were 13 people living in at 13 Brunswick. He and his family will be staying at his mother’s house in Watervliet.

That house was literally twisted by the impact of the earth and will need to be demolished. Clement Garage, located two doors up from 13 Brunswick was completely destroyed. Likely, a total of three houses will need to come down.



“The neighbors were outside and I heard them yelling and screaming and I didn’t know what was going on. I thought they were fighting but then the whole house started shaking and I didn’t know what was going on and my kids started jumping on me,” said Delilah Seales, who also lived at 13 Brunswick Road. “We couldn’t get out because the whole house shifted and the neighbor came and kicked in the entire door jamb. We punched out the top panel of the door but my the door shifted and the dead bolt was stuck so we couldn’t open it.”

The slide packed enough force to push a mid-sized recreational vehicle from behind one of the homes onto Brunswick Avenue.

Fire Chief Tom Garrett said the situation is still volatile and that more of the hill could still come down. As firefighters stood on Brunswick Road trying to determine a course of action and crews were trying to shut off gas and electric, another portion of the hill gave away sending everyone scattering. Garrett said a similar incident on Spring Avenue took days to get resolved.
“It was a very steep embankment that was very heavy with water so we have to see if another portion of the hill is going to go,” said City Engineer Russ reeves.

http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2011/08/28/news/doc4e5aa0d34d311...

 

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Irene: Tree Takes Out Amwell Road Power Lines

Closes portions of Amwell Road as well, though drivers are bypassing barriers.

A portion of Amwell Road Collapsed near a county bridge. Credit: Eileen Oldfield

Photos

A tree alongside the Neshanic River is a cause of both road closures on Amwell Road and power outages for residents in the western part of town.

In addition to the tree hitting the power lines, the river has also flooded over the bridge, though residents in the area say it’s gone down since this morning. The county maintains the bridge over the river, according to Hillsborough Township Police Chief Paul Kaminsky and Mayor Gloria McCauley.

They estimated that the power went out in their area around 1 a.m., they said.

In addition, a county-maintained bridge over a culvert near Longhill Road suffered a minor collapse on one side of the road. The road, when not blocked-off, is still passable, since the collapsed portion is on the bridge shoulder.

County engineers are expected to be out inspecting both bridges, officials added.

At least one resident felt the storm was not as bad as expected.

“We made out pretty good,” Joe Liptack said. “We got a little bit of water in the cellar and then the driveway.”

Though water in his cellar was a concern, Liptack said he was also worried about his workplace. As a gardener for the Somerset County Parks Commission, he’s worried about the conditions in Colonial Park.

But for Liptack’s wife, Claire, the storm’s been the second of two events this week—she’s

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Dam at Ravine Drive in Jeopardy, Officials Say; Road May Collapse

Ravine Drive is closed indefinitely, from Matawan Ave. to Wykoff Street 

A dam break threatens Ravine Drive alongside Lake Lefferts in Matawan on Sunday. Credit:

Rising waters from Hurricane Irene have caused a partial break in the dam on Lake Lefferts, along Matawan's Ravine Drive, forcing the borough to close a key portion of the road indefinitely.

Fire department personnel responded to the break. Fire Chief Zoltan Varsanyi described the activity as precautionary because the area still faced another wave of heavy rain and wind from the back end of the storm.

"Hurricane water is overflowing the lake; the dam can't hold it. The dam's failing," Washington Engine First Lt. Chris Lambrose said at the scene. "It washed out the road on Ravine Drive."

Borough Mayor Paul Buccellato and a county engineer were also on hand, assessing the extent of the damage. It was soon determined that Ravine Drive would have to remain closed between Matawan Ave. and Wykoff Street until further notice. Residents were being notified in automated phone calls from the borough, late into the afternoon.

"It's a major thoroughfare," Lambrose said. "It will definitely cut off a big chunk of the town."

The dam is scheduled to be part of a long-term $10-million reconstruction project, with costs split between Matawan Borough and Monmouth County. Discussing the project in January, County Engineer Joseph Ettore told The Independent that the 84-year-old concrete bridge over Ravine Drive at Lake Lefforts was not in urgent need of replacement but should logically be upgraded as part of the dam reconstruction. The bridge repair is to be covered by the county's $6 million share of the total cost.

"Looks like they're going to have to replace the dam," Lambrose said Sunday. "A little sooner than they thought."

Earlier in the morning, emergency responders reported making a "water rescue" at the scene, coming to the aid of an unidentified male who was not injured in the incident

http://matawan-aberdeen.patch.com/articles/dam-at-ravine-drive-in-j...