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.

Paul Sebasovich was cleaning “a little bit of water” in the basement of his Lower Paxton Twp. home Saturday night when he saw brown water seeping through the wall.

“I heard a couple pops and saw the blocks moving a little bit, and I got up on the steps, and all of a sudden, everything went, like a dam breaking,” said the Curvin Road resident.

Sebasovich’s family is one of two forced from their homes by a deluge — three to seven inches of rain dropped overnight Saturday and into Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

In Susquehanna and Lower Paxton townships, the storm closed roads and stranded motorists.

“We got clobbered,” said Lower Paxton Twp. Manager George Wolfe.

Overloaded storm sewers “exploded” and caused Beaver and Goose Valley roads to collapse, Wolfe said. Compton and Colonial Club roads, closed due to flooding during the storm, have reopened, but Beaver and Goose Valley will remain closed for emergency repairs and will possibly reopen this week, he said.

Lower Paxton storm sewers were inspected recently “because of the significant rain we had this past spring,” Wolfe said. “The storms we’ve been having lately, if you didn’t know it, you’d think they were 10-year storms, 100-years storms, but they’re all coming in the last three or four months.”

Sebasovich said that he and his wife are staying with their daughter, and their son is staying with neighbors, while crews shore up the crumbled basement wall.

“That night, we stayed in our truck, because we have two beagles,” he said.

Hornung’s Hardware store “helped a lot” by loaning a loader and trailer, but without flood coverage, insurance won’t cover the damage, Sebasovich said.

Also in Lower Paxton Twp., another buckling basement chased a family of three adults and one child from their Heather Road home, said Nikki Otto of the American Red Cross of Southcentral Pennsylvania. The Red Cross found housing for them through Monday night and will reassess today.

“They still weren’t allowed back on the property,” Otto said. “There was still damage.”

In Susquehanna Twp., the flooded Doehne, Paxton Church, Walker Mill and Roberts Valley roads were closed Saturday night but reopened by Sunday morning, said township Manager Gary Myers. Some patching and shoulder repairs are unde rway, but “it appears we had no real structural damage,” he said.

Sergey Filatov has lived in the Mountaindale development of Susquehanna Twp. for 10 years, but said he never saw anything like the deluge that sent several inches of water coursing into his garage and tearing out landscaping. A drain meant to channel stormwater toward a creek apparently failed, he said.

The development, built on the side of the mountains that parallel Linglestown Road, is no stranger to flash-flooding issues during heavy storms.

The Susquehanna Twp. highway crew is spending this week “checking culverts and cleaning off every inlet in the township, and probably pulling covers and shoveling them out,” Myers said.

Wolfe said he hasn’t had a chance to assess the cost of storm cleanup and repairs. Myers said the storm shouldn’t cost the township any more than highway crew overtime Saturday and Sunday.

Comment by Starr DiGiacomo on August 14, 2011 at 11:55pm: No pleasant shower this; 8 dead

LUDHIANA: This time round the rain was not welcome. It let loose disaster, killing eight people in separate incidents of building collapse, road cave in and electrocution. Business also took a huge hit with goods worth crores being destroyed as water gushed into shops and storehouses.

Confirming that eight people were killed in the city between Friday and Saturday evening, deputy commissioner of police Ashish Chaudhary said, "Four died of electrocution, three were killed in building collapse and one died in a road cave in." Panic gripped commuters as roads began to give way.

Several cases of building collapse were also reported across the city which buried many under rubble. While a wall of Old Lodhi Fort came down on small illegal houses, in Madhopuri area a four storied building collapsed but no causalty was reported. A 10-metre long boundary wall of Lord Mahavira Homeopathic College on Hambran Road fell and the boundary wall of Sheela Hospital fell on a parked car and motorcycle. Ludhiana's business community suffered huge loss with a lot of goods getting destroyed in various markets.

Speaking on behalf of small hosiery units Vinod Thapar, president of Ludhiana Knitwear Club said, "Loss caused by the rains run into thousands of crores as low lying areas like Sundar Nagar, which have many hosiery units, were inundated with water.'' President of Akalgarh market Davinder Singh Jyoti said over 80 shops were flooded in the area. "Garments, electronics and shoes worth over Rs 70 lakh was floating in water on Saturday," Jyoti said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ludhiana/No-pleasant-shower...

Comment by Starr DiGiacomo on August 14, 2011 at 11:53pm: Heavy rain causes partial house collapse in N.J.

Updated at 04:54 PM today

Tags:
new jersey, gloucester county, rain, flooding, local/state

GLASSBORO, N.J. - August 14, 2011 (WPVI) -- A surge of heavy rains caused part of a home in Glassboro, New Jersey to collapse Saturday morning.

Crews arrived at 407 Deptford Road just after 11:00am and found that the back part of the house had caved in.

The two homeowners and their pet were able to get out without being injured.

Authorities remain on the scene making sure the rest of the house stays up.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8306047

Comment by Starr DiGiacomo on August 14, 2011 at 4:14pm: INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- A stage collapsed during a powerful storm at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday, sending steel scaffolding into the terrified crowd below and killing at least four people among fans awaiting a performance by the country band Sugarland.

The collapse came moments after an announcer warned of the advancing storm and gave instructions on what to do in event of an evacuation. Witnesses said a wall of dirt, dust and rain blew up quickly as a gust of high wind toppled the rigging. People ran amid screams and shouts, desperate to get out of the way.

Hundreds of concert-goers rushed afterward amid the chaos to tend to the injured, many with upraised arms seeking to lift heavy beams, lights and other equipment that blew down onto the crowd. Many of the injured were in the VIP section closest to the stage. Emergency crews set up a triage center in a tunnel below the grandstand at the Indianapolis fairgrounds.

About 40 people were injured, including at least one child, WTHR reported. Witnesses reported seeing many people with head and neck injuries and broken bones.

Todd Harper, spokesman for Wishard Memorial Hospital in the city, said later Sunday that at least 18 patients were brought in. He said their problems ranged from head injuries and bone fractures to lacerations and other cuts and bruises. He said those injuries were not life-threatening and conditions ranged from fair to critical.

One was a 7-year-old child, he said, but didn't elaborate further.

"We set up a command center and a page was sent out to staff to call the command center," he said, adding the hospital hadn't seen such a sudden influx of patients since a tornado outbreak in 2000. "This was unusual. We can't think of an incident that compared to this mass of people" arriving.

Indiana State Police 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten said the number of injured could rise because some people may have taken themselves to hospitals.

Bursten said the injuries ranged from cuts and scrapes to "very serious injuries" and that it was a "very likely possibility" that the death toll could also climb.

Emergency crews continued to search the fairgrounds early Sunday to ensure there were no other injured concert-goers who might have wandered off after the collapse, Bursten said.

Fair officials canceled all activities Sunday. The fair, which runs through Aug. 21, was expected to resume Monday with a service honoring the victims, he said.

Bursten said emergency personnel and fair officials were monitoring the weather because a severe storm had been expected to hit the area around 9:15 p.m. But the storm hit shortly before 9 p.m.

He said preparations were being made to evacuate the facility but that the "significant gust of wind" struck the stage rigging that holds lights and other equipment before the evacuation plan was activated.

"As we all know, weather can change in a very rapid period of time," he said.

Concert-goers said the opening act by Sara Bareilles had finished and the crowd was waiting for Sugarland to take the stage. They said an announcer had alerted them that severe weather was possible and gave instructions on what to do if an evacuation was necessary. But the same announcer said concert organizers hoped the show would go on, and many fans stayed put.

The wind that toppled the rigging came just minutes after that announcement, fans said.

"It was like it was in slow motion," concert-goer Amy Weathers told the Indianapolis Star. "You couldn't believe it was actually happening."

Associated Press photographer Darron Cummings was in the audience attending the concert as a fan shortly before the collapse. He said he and his companions sought shelter in a nearby barn after seeing the weather radar and eyeing dark clouds approaching.

"Then we heard screams. We heard people just come running," Cummings

Comment by Starr DiGiacomo on August 14, 2011 at 12:26am: Heavy rain floods roads, traffic hit

Aug 13, 2011 |

Heavy showers on Friday made the weather pleasant in the city but resulted in heavy waterlogging on the roads and caused traffic jams. The rain started in the morning hours causing waterlogging at 50 places in the city. Traffic snarls

were reported on many stretches as commuters were stranded in long queue of vehicles for hours.
In 24 hours till Friday evening, the weather department measured 79.6 mm rain. The major share was between 5.30 pm on Thursday and 8.30 am Friday when the city received 69.7 mm.
The MCD control room received complaints of building collapse from Anand Parbat, Nanakpura, Haidarpur and Ali Vihar. Three people, including a child, were reportedly injured in the incidents.
The worst-affected areas were Badarpur, Ashram, Prahladpur, Mathura Road, Lakshmi Nagar, Ganesh Nagar, Kashmere Gate, ITO and Vikas Marg.
As peak hour traffic crawled, the police appealed to motorists to drive safely.
The waterlogged streets slowed down traffic in several areas. Traffic was hit on Badarpur-Ashram stretch, ITO, Mathura Road, Bhagwan Das Road crossing, Anand Parbat to Rampura, Moti Nagar, Zakhira, Janakpuri, Nizamuddin, Jangpura, South Extension and Saket. The stretch from Moti Nagar to Zakhira was partially damaged due to waterlogging.
The traffic police had to sweat in the rains in regulating traffic in the peak hours. The incessant rain exposed the preparations of the government and the failure of authorities in desilting drains before monsoon.
However, the showers cooled the city. The minimum temperature on Friday was recorded at 25.5 degree Celsius, which is one degree below normal. The maximum temperature on Friday was recorded at 30.1º Celsius.
The weather department has predicted thundershowers on Saturday.

http://www.asianage.com/delhi/heavy-rain-floods-roads-traffic-hit-356

Comment by Starr DiGiacomo on August 14, 2011 at 12:24am

Deck collapse in Alexandria sends 16 people to hospital

Multiple injuries after deck collapses at Lake Geneva home

By: Amy Chaffins, Alexandria Echo Press

Several injured in deck collapse on Lake Geneva
Several injured in deck collapse on Lake Geneva

The deck on a Lake Geneva home collapsed Friday night and left several people injured.

Autorities reported that 16 people were treated at Douglas County Hospital for injuries they suffered in the collapse.

Just after 8 p.m. Friday, August 12, Douglas County Disatch received several 911 calls reporting there were 20 to 25 people on the deck when it collapsed at 1404 East Lake Geneva Road. Barbara Thompson is the homeowner.

Emergency personnel were called in from across the area: North Ambulance, Parkers Prairie Ambulance, Glacial Ridge Ambulance, Alexandria Fire Department, Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Alexandria Police Department, Carlos Police Department and Minnesota State Patrol.

http://www.echopress.com/event/article/id/87137/

Comment by Starr DiGiacomo on August 10, 2011 at 2:57am: Heavy weekend rain damages homes in Lower Paxton, Susquehanna townships

Published: Monday, August 08, 2011, 6:51 PM     Updated: Monday, August 08, 2011, 8:32 PM

Paul Sebasovich was cleaning “a little bit of water” in the basement of his Lower Paxton Twp. home Saturday night when he saw brown water seeping through the wall.

“I heard a couple pops and saw the blocks moving a little bit, and I got up on the steps, and all of a sudden, everything went, like a dam breaking,” said the Curvin Road resident.

Sebasovich’s family is one of two forced from their homes by a deluge — three to seven inches of rain dropped overnight Saturday and into Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

In Susquehanna and Lower Paxton townships, the storm closed roads and stranded motorists.

“We got clobbered,” said Lower Paxton Twp. Manager George Wolfe.

Overloaded storm sewers “exploded” and caused Beaver and Goose Valley roads to collapse, Wolfe said. Compton and Colonial Club roads, closed due to flooding during the storm, have reopened, but Beaver and Goose Valley will remain closed for emergency repairs and will possibly reopen this week, he said.

Lower Paxton storm sewers were inspected recently “because of the significant rain we had this past spring,” Wolfe said. “The storms we’ve been having lately, if you didn’t know it, you’d think they were 10-year storms, 100-years storms, but they’re all coming in the last three or four months.”

Sebasovich said that he and his wife are staying with their daughter, and their son is staying with neighbors, while crews shore up the crumbled basement wall.

“That night, we stayed in our truck, because we have two beagles,” he said.

Hornung’s Hardware store “helped a lot” by loaning a loader and trailer, but without flood coverage, insurance won’t cover the damage, Sebasovich said.

Also in Lower Paxton Twp., another buckling basement chased a family of three adults and one child from their Heather Road home, said Nikki Otto of the American Red Cross of Southcentral Pennsylvania. The Red Cross found housing for them through Monday night and will reassess today.

“They still weren’t allowed back on the property,” Otto said. “There was still damage.”

In Susquehanna Twp., the flooded Doehne, Paxton Church, Walker Mill and Roberts Valley roads were closed Saturday night but reopened by Sunday morning, said township Manager Gary Myers. Some patching and shoulder repairs are unde rway, but “it appears we had no real structural damage,” he said.

Sergey Filatov has lived in the Mountaindale development of Susquehanna Twp. for 10 years, but said he never saw anything like the deluge that sent several inches of water coursing into his garage and tearing out landscaping. A drain meant to channel stormwater toward a creek apparently failed, he said.

The development, built on the side of the mountains that parallel Linglestown Road, is no stranger to flash-flooding issues during heavy storms.

The Susquehanna Twp. highway crew is spending this week “checking culverts and cleaning off every inlet in the township, and probably pulling covers and shoveling them out,” Myers said.

Wolfe said he hasn’t had a chance to assess the cost of storm cleanup and repairs. Myers said the storm shouldn’t cost the township any more than highway crew overtime Saturday and Sunday.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/08/heavy_weekend_ra...

Comment by Starr DiGiacomo on August 10, 2011 at 2:51am

Construction Site Collapse Closes Down Clarendon Boulevard, Residents Evacuated From Apartments

Updated: Monday , 08 Aug 2011, 6:07 PM EDT

ROSSLYN, Va. - A construction site collapse on Clarendon Boulevard has left a big traffic mess and has caused an apartment building in Rosslyn to evacuate.

The collapse is due to a support wall giving way, causing cracks in the apartment building.

Residents are in hotels on Monday and officials are not sure for how long.

For the residents who live in the four-story apartment, it was an awful sound and feeling.

“We heard this banging sound. It sounded like somebody was hitting a piece of metal with a crowbar and all the welds just snapped and basically the whole thing starts subsiding,” said resident Will Dickinson.

He ran to his truck parked right next to the construction site.

“I jumped in my truck and I had about 30 seconds to spare and I backed my truck out and the whole thing fell down like 40 feet,” said Dickinson.

Arlington County officials say recent rain might be to blame for the issues of the support wall.

“It's because of the water content in the soil. The past couple of days, we’ve had [lots of] rain and the hydraulic pressure was too much,” said Shahriar Amiri, Arlington County’s Chief Building Official.

There were rumors of a huge crane leaning and even a sinkhole opening up, but officials say that was not the case.

Clark Construction, the developer of the property, immediately took care of the residents and placed them in a hotel across the street.

“We’re doing everything we can for the residents and our highest priority is the safety of the building as well as the residents,” said Brian Abt of Clark Construction.

All day long, crews have been bringing dump truck after dump truck filled with dirt as they attempt to secure the foundation.

Officials believe Clarendon Boulevard will likely be closed Monday night.

It is also likely going to be a day or two before the residents can move back home. Construction crews not only have to secure the land around that building, but they also have to make sure the building was not structurally damaged.

Statement from Clark Construction Group, LLC:

"On Sunday night, officials at Clark Construction were notified of a failure in the sheeting and shoring system that supports the excavation at Sedona & Slate, a residential housing project in Rosslyn, Va. As a safety precaution, the residents of an adjacent apartment building were evacuated, and accommodations are being provided for them at a nearby hotel. Clark is working closely with structural engineer Allyn Kilsheimer and Arlington County officials to investigate the situation and proceed with appropriate measures.

Our highest priority is the safety of the adjacent building and its residents. We will provide more information as it becomes available."

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/virginia/construction-site-collapse...

Comment by Starr DiGiacomo on August 9, 2011 at 1:57am

Collapse at Construction Site Threatens Nearby Apartments.

Update at 1:35 p.m. — See this post for the latest on the road closures surrounding the site.

Roads are closed in Rosslyn after a retaining wall partially collapsed at a construction site on the 1500 block of Clarendon

A large retaining wall at the Sedona and Slate apartment construction site gave way following this evening’s heavy rains, allowing earth and debris to spill into the construction pit. The collapse raised fears of an even bigger structural collapse.

Clarendon Boulevard will be closed between Pierce Street and Oak Street “for the foreseeable future,” according to Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Lt. Gregg Karl. Parts of Ode Street and several other roads in the area are also closed.

The Swansen Apartments, at 1625 N. Ode Street, has been evacuated while structural engineers determine whether the building is in danger of collapsing as a result of the failed retaining wall. The building sits on the edge of the landslide that occurred after the wall collapse.

Residents of the Swansen Apartments, who spoke to ARLnow.com on the condition of anonymity, said that they’ve noticed widening cracks in the building’s basement and in the pavement of the parking lot adjacent to the building within the past two weeks. The residents said they recently saw workers measuring the cracks.

About 10 apartment residents have been displaced and will be placed in temporary housing, Karl said. He said other residents found alternate housing on their own. Between 20 and 35 people live in the building, according to resident and fire department estimates.

As of 11:00 p.m., Clark Construction, the primary contractor on the Sedona and Slate project, had around a dozen employees on scene assessing the situation. Arlington County engineers were also on scene, Karl said. The Red Cross arrived to assist displaced residents, and the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department arrived to provide food and drink to emergency workers.

So far, there has been no indication that there’s any danger to a large construction crane at the site.

Comment by Starr DiGiacomo on August 9, 2011 at 1:46am: Unsafe Buildings: Teen sisters killed in roof collapse

Published: August 9, 2011

Two sisters died and seven people were injured when two dilapidated houses collapsed during heavy monsoon rains. PHOTO:AFP

LAHORE:
Two sisters died and seven people were injured when two dilapidated houses collapsed during heavy monsoon rains in the city on Monday.

Irum, 16, and Bakhtawar, 18, were killed when the roof of their house near Crown Marriage Hall in Baghbanpura caved in, Rescue 1122 officials told The Express Tribune. The girls were killed instantly by the falling debris, they said.

Rescue officials, with the help of locals, were able to pull out five others trapped under the rubble: Ghulam Shabbir, 40, and Shahnaz Bibi, 35, and their three other children Shabbir, Natasha and Riaz. All five were moved to a hospital where they are being treated for their injuries.

Another couple was trapped under rubble when the roof of their home near Youhanabad Stop on Ferozepur Road collapsed. Their neighbours helped Rescue 1122 officials pull them free. Babar Masih, 25, and his wife Mumtaz, 23, are being treated in General Hospital where they are out of danger, said the officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2011.

For more picture of the monsoon, view a slideshow here

http://tribune.com.pk/story/227206/unsafe-buildings-teen-sisters-ki...

Comment by Starr DiGiacomo on August 9, 2011 at 1:44am

A not-so-beautiful laundrette moment

9 Aug 11 @ 06:00am by Jennifer Ling

Workers putting up support to secure what's left of the wall at the laundromat. Picture: JASON SAMMON
The wall collapse in Glen Huntly. Picture: JASON SAMMON
Police block off the road around the wall collapse. Picture: JASON SAMMON

more photos

THREE people could have been crushed when a brick wall of a busy Glen Huntly laundromat partially collapsed during construction work at a neighbouring site.

Worksafe and Glen Eira Council are investigating the incident where the side wall of the Royal Ave Coin Laundrette crumbled at lunchtime on August 1, leaving a gaping hole and exposing the washing machines inside.

It is believed construction work at the adjacent site of the old Glen Huntly police station caused the collapse.

Margaret Lorkin, co-director of building managers Stockdale and Leggo Real Estate, said there was one person in the laundromat and two people in upstairs offices at the time.

“They heard it crack and went outside and it fell down,” Mrs Lorkin said.

Mrs Lorkin’s husband, Des, said a bobcat was digging at the site when the foundation collapsed.

Police cordoned off the area while crews worked to secure the building on August 2.

Worksafe spokesman Michael Birt said a decision on whether to demolish the building would be made soon, but Mrs Lorkin said she understood the wall would be repaired.

Glen Eira Council spokesman Paul Burke said the municipal building inspector was still investigating, which might lead to enforcement action.

“We do know there was an excavator and workmen on site to undertake underpinning works in accordance with a building permit as part of stage one of the works to be undertaken at 9 Royal Ave,” Mr Burke said.

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You need to be a member of Earth Changes and the Pole Shift to add comments!

No pleasant shower this; 8 dead

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Heavy rain floods roads, traffic hit

Deck collapse in Alexandria sends 16 people to hospital

Heavy weekend rain damages homes in Lower Paxton, Susquehanna townships

Published: Monday, August 08, 2011, 6:51 PM Updated: Monday, August 08, 2011, 8:32 PM

Construction Site Collapse Closes Down Clarendon Boulevard, Residents Evacuated From Apartments

Unsafe Buildings: Teen sisters killed in roof collapse

A not-so-beautiful laundrette moment

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