Snow brings new troubles: Four buildings collapsed in Chicago and Elgin in three days
Due to weather conditions, at least four buildings collapsed in three days in Chicago and Elgin, officials said.
As storms continue to batter northern Illinois, experts warn that more old, vacant, or poorly maintained buildings could collapse under the weight of the snow.
The buildings will likely be demolished, officials said – or at least what is left of them.
An empty building in the Englewood neighborhood at 5617 S. Halsted St. collapsed on Sunday. It had been in the process of demolition starting that same day, the Chicago Fire Department said.
„Since those buildings are unsafe, and there were several of them, we are taking urgent measures and demolishing those buildings out of necessity,” Matt Beaudet explained during the conference.
The front and right walls of the commercial building in Elgin, in the 200 block of Prairie Street, „disappeared.“.
Agency crews were on the scene five minutes after a report of a possible explosion came in at around 6:30 in the morning. It was stated that it is not uncommon for people to mistake building noise for an explosion. Over the past three days, that had indeed been confirmed.
On Saturday, the roof of another building collapsed in Elgin. Both buildings had chord-supported roof systems, a report said.
Half of a brick wall from a second building in the Bridgeport neighborhood, at 2727 S. Wells St., collapsed on Monday afternoon.
Another round of winter weather hit Chicago February 15. The storm brought large amounts of snow, which is one of the reasons for the collapse of old buildings.
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SOURCE: CHICAGO TRIBUNE PHOTO: UNSPLASH
