Worker rescued following building collapse amid severe weather, 5 injured
By
Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jul 1, 2021 9:23 PM EDT
|
Updated Jul 3, 2021 6:00 PM EDT
Rescue crews successfully removed an adult who was trapped under rubble after a building collapsed in Washington, D.C., on July 1. The building collapsed after severe storms moved through the area.
As severe weather rolled through Washington, D.C., Thursday afternoon, a building under construction collapsed with a roar like thunder, trapping at least one of the workers and injuring another four.
The collapse happened at 900 block Kennedy St. in Northwest D.C., around 3:30 p.m. EDT, "during the height" of the storm that had swept through the area on Thursday, Fire Chief John Donnelly told reporters on the scene on Thursday.
Areas from Virginia to D.C., up to New Jersey had been issued a severe thunderstorm watch early Thursday afternoon, which warned of possible scattered wind gusts of up to 70 mph. By the end of the day, roughly 100 preliminary wind reports were noted on NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, including this incident. While the ones from D.C., didn't have a wind speed listed, a few from Maryland were noted to have reached up to 60 mph, according to the preliminary data.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"Reagan National Airport had a wind gust [up] to 58 mph, and there could have been even stronger gusts than that around the area," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert said.
Strong winds at Reagan National Airport led to damage for at least one American Airlines aircraft as it was on the taxiway. Fortunately, no injuries were reported but the plane could be seen leaning to the side and resting on one of its engines.
Officials have not yet determined the cause of the collapse, and Ernest Chrappah, director of D.C.'s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, told reporters that an inspector was on the site. He couldn't comment on if the strong storms had played a role in the collapse.
While wind gusts of up to 60 mph normally shouldn't pose a threat to buildings, AccuWeather Senior Forensic Meteorologist Steve Wistar said that there are stages during construction when a building can be more vulnerable to strong winds depending on the support that is -- or isn't -- in place.
Five people were injured on Thursday after a building in Washington, D.C., collapsed amid a severe thunder storm. (Twitter/@dcfireems)
(Twitter/@dcfireems)
The first units on the scene were able to remove four people from the rubble, transporting them to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
As crews were helping those injured and working on rescuing the one person trapped under the rubble, the D.C. Fire Department evacuated two adjacent homes. Neither of the structures appeared to be in danger of immediate collapse, according to officials.
Edward Constable told NBC News4 that he had been in his bedroom, about to take a nap when the building collapsed, tearing off a portion of his own home with it.
"This huge boom happened. Next thing I know, there is water pouring in the bedrooms," Constable said. He added that he and his wife have complained to the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs for two years because they felt the construction was damaging their home, according to NBC News4.
A K-9 located a fifth man in the rubble under at least three floors of debris, trapped by a beam with at least 8 inches around him, Donnelly told reporters on the scene.
Authorities said a K-9 was able to sniff out the person trapped in the building and lead rescuers to him. (Twitter/@dcfireems)
(Twitter/@dcfireems)
By the time the rain had cleared out, electric saws could be heard cutting away debris as teams worked for an hour and a half before they were able to free the man. He was taken to a hospital with major but non-life-threatening injuries.
"I think that is a very, very fast extracation given this type of situation -- the complicated efforts, the weather we faced when we got here," Donnelly said.
D.C. Fire and EMS crews worked for an hour and a half to free a person trapped in a collapsed building on Thursday. (Twitter/@dcfireems)
(Twitter/@dcfireems)
He described the collapse as a combination of a "pancake collapse," in which the layers all come down together, and a "lean-to" collapse, in which one side of the remaining structure was higher than the other side and supported by the building next-door.
"We've seen these where the people didn't [survive], so he was definitely blessed today," Donnelly said.
A separate storm around 9 p.m. EDT on Thursday night reportedly toppled multiple trees in downtown D.C. near the National Mall after a tornado warning was issued for the area, including Arlington, Virginia.
Nearby in Arlington, Virginia, numerous trees, wires and poles had been knocked down by strong winds. A large tree fell onto a house, trapping someone inside, according to a preliminary report from the NWS. Just after the mark of the hour, the Arlington Fire and EMS tweeted that they were responding to multiple calls for service and prioritizing life-threatening emergencies.
One adult was noted to have been extricated from under a pile of debris after a tree fell onto a home. The individual was taken to a hospital with non-threatening-injuries.
As of 10 p.m. EDT, over 50,000 customers were without power across Virginia and Maryland, according to PowerOutage.US.
A preliminary survey by the National Weather Service found that an EF0 tornado with a path length of .75 miles tracked from H Street Corridor NE into Kingman Park with maximum estimated winds of 80 mph.
A separate NWS survey found an EF1 tornado had tracked from Cherrydale in Arlington, Virginia, to near 16th Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW D.C., along a 4.4-mile path with maximum estimated winds of 90 mph.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Severe Weather
Worker rescued following building collapse amid severe weather, 5 injured
By Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jul 1, 2021 9:23 PM EDT | Updated Jul 3, 2021 6:00 PM EDT
Rescue crews successfully removed an adult who was trapped under rubble after a building collapsed in Washington, D.C., on July 1. The building collapsed after severe storms moved through the area.
As severe weather rolled through Washington, D.C., Thursday afternoon, a building under construction collapsed with a roar like thunder, trapping at least one of the workers and injuring another four.
The collapse happened at 900 block Kennedy St. in Northwest D.C., around 3:30 p.m. EDT, "during the height" of the storm that had swept through the area on Thursday, Fire Chief John Donnelly told reporters on the scene on Thursday.
Areas from Virginia to D.C., up to New Jersey had been issued a severe thunderstorm watch early Thursday afternoon, which warned of possible scattered wind gusts of up to 70 mph. By the end of the day, roughly 100 preliminary wind reports were noted on NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, including this incident. While the ones from D.C., didn't have a wind speed listed, a few from Maryland were noted to have reached up to 60 mph, according to the preliminary data.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"Reagan National Airport had a wind gust [up] to 58 mph, and there could have been even stronger gusts than that around the area," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert said.
Strong winds at Reagan National Airport led to damage for at least one American Airlines aircraft as it was on the taxiway. Fortunately, no injuries were reported but the plane could be seen leaning to the side and resting on one of its engines.
Officials have not yet determined the cause of the collapse, and Ernest Chrappah, director of D.C.'s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, told reporters that an inspector was on the site. He couldn't comment on if the strong storms had played a role in the collapse.
While wind gusts of up to 60 mph normally shouldn't pose a threat to buildings, AccuWeather Senior Forensic Meteorologist Steve Wistar said that there are stages during construction when a building can be more vulnerable to strong winds depending on the support that is -- or isn't -- in place.
Five people were injured on Thursday after a building in Washington, D.C., collapsed amid a severe thunder storm. (Twitter/@dcfireems)
The first units on the scene were able to remove four people from the rubble, transporting them to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
As crews were helping those injured and working on rescuing the one person trapped under the rubble, the D.C. Fire Department evacuated two adjacent homes. Neither of the structures appeared to be in danger of immediate collapse, according to officials.
Edward Constable told NBC News4 that he had been in his bedroom, about to take a nap when the building collapsed, tearing off a portion of his own home with it.
"This huge boom happened. Next thing I know, there is water pouring in the bedrooms," Constable said. He added that he and his wife have complained to the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs for two years because they felt the construction was damaging their home, according to NBC News4.
A K-9 located a fifth man in the rubble under at least three floors of debris, trapped by a beam with at least 8 inches around him, Donnelly told reporters on the scene.
Authorities said a K-9 was able to sniff out the person trapped in the building and lead rescuers to him. (Twitter/@dcfireems)
By the time the rain had cleared out, electric saws could be heard cutting away debris as teams worked for an hour and a half before they were able to free the man. He was taken to a hospital with major but non-life-threatening injuries.
"I think that is a very, very fast extracation given this type of situation -- the complicated efforts, the weather we faced when we got here," Donnelly said.
D.C. Fire and EMS crews worked for an hour and a half to free a person trapped in a collapsed building on Thursday. (Twitter/@dcfireems)
He described the collapse as a combination of a "pancake collapse," in which the layers all come down together, and a "lean-to" collapse, in which one side of the remaining structure was higher than the other side and supported by the building next-door.
"We've seen these where the people didn't [survive], so he was definitely blessed today," Donnelly said.
A separate storm around 9 p.m. EDT on Thursday night reportedly toppled multiple trees in downtown D.C. near the National Mall after a tornado warning was issued for the area, including Arlington, Virginia.
Nearby in Arlington, Virginia, numerous trees, wires and poles had been knocked down by strong winds. A large tree fell onto a house, trapping someone inside, according to a preliminary report from the NWS. Just after the mark of the hour, the Arlington Fire and EMS tweeted that they were responding to multiple calls for service and prioritizing life-threatening emergencies.
One adult was noted to have been extricated from under a pile of debris after a tree fell onto a home. The individual was taken to a hospital with non-threatening-injuries.
As of 10 p.m. EDT, over 50,000 customers were without power across Virginia and Maryland, according to PowerOutage.US.
A preliminary survey by the National Weather Service found that an EF0 tornado with a path length of .75 miles tracked from H Street Corridor NE into Kingman Park with maximum estimated winds of 80 mph.
A separate NWS survey found an EF1 tornado had tracked from Cherrydale in Arlington, Virginia, to near 16th Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW D.C., along a 4.4-mile path with maximum estimated winds of 90 mph.
In other news:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo