A heavily traveled bridge in an industrial area of Genoa, Italy has reportedly collapsed during a "sudden, violent storm" according to news reports, leaving many injured and at least 37 fatalities...
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/08/14/bridge-collapses-in-italy-during-heavy-storm-crushing-cars.html (http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/08/14/bridge-collapses-in-italy-during-heavy-storm-crushing-cars.html)
From the above link:
QuoteMILAN – A bridge over an industrial area in the Italian city of Genova partially collapsed during a sudden and violent storm on Tuesday, leaving vehicles crushed in the rubble below.
Italian media reported that there were deaths, but Maria Luisa Catalano, a police official in Genoa, said that authorities were still involved in rescue efforts and did not yet know the number of victims or injured.
The disaster occurred on a highway that connects Italy to France and other vacation resorts on the eve of a major Italian holiday on Wednesday, Ferragosto, and traffic would have been heavier than usual as many Italians traveled to beaches or mountains.
The transport minister, Danilo Toninelli, called the collapse "an enormous tragedy."
The private broadcaster Sky TG24 said that a 200-meter section of the Morandi Bridge collapsed over an industrial zone. Firefighters told The Associated Press that there are concerns about gas lines.
Photos published by the ANSA news agency on its website showed a huge gulf between two sections of the bridge.
Video captured the sound of a man screaming: "Oh god, oh, god." Other images showed a green truck that had stopped just meters (yards) short of the gaping hole in the bridge.
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said some 200 firefighters were responding to the accident.
"We are following minute by minute the situation for the bridge collapse in Genoa," Salvini said on Twitter.
The Morandi Bridge was inaugurated in 1967. It is 90 meters (yards) high, just over a kilometer (about three-quarters of a mile) long, with the longest section between supports measuring 200 meters (yards).
The bridge is a main thoroughfare connecting the A10 highway that goes toward France and the A7 highway that continues north toward Milan.
ANSA said that authorities suspected that a structural weakness caused the collapse on Tuesday.
This bridge has been in use for 51 years and they never noticed it had structural issues?
:o ::)
Quote from: The Seeker on August 15, 2018, 12:18:27 PM
This bridge has been in use for 51 years and they never noticed it had structural issues?
I saw on Euronews a local man saying that the last work they did on the bridge (in 2016, if I'm not mistaken) made the bridge weaker, as they made some holes in it.
Not knowing what kind of holes they made or even if they did make holes it's hard to know for sure, but I think it's possible.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/15/europe/italy-bridge-warning-fallout-intl/index.html
Genoa bridge collapse came after years of warnings
By Hilary Clarke and Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN
Updated 12:11 PM ET, Wed August 15, 2018
The bridge had a stupid design flaw. It was a unique design. A suspension bridge but the unique feature was that the cables were covered by concrete!!!
Why is the concrete a problem? It is difficult to check the amount of corrosion or damage to the cables as you can't see them.
Idiotic design in my opinion.