Cathy Kennedy
The horrifying collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Florida last month that killed at least 95 people is a reminder of how frail a seemingly sturdy structure can suddenly become.
In California, we have also seen large buildings fall with deadly consequences, most often when the ground starts shaking. When the edifice is a hospital, it is a double calamity, affecting not only patients, visitors and families buried by the tremor, but everyone in the community who loses access to their now incapacitated hospital.
A 1971 earthquake in northern Los Angeles County killed 64 people, 49 of them at the Veterans Administration hospital in Sylmar. Two decades later, the 1994 Northridge earthquake forced indefinite closure of three Los Angeles hospitals because of structural damage. Dozens of others sustained such severe battering they had to evacuate patients.
Chicago Resident Confirmed Dead In Surfside Collapse
patch.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from patch.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
DeSantis Won t Commit to Statewide Review of Aging Florida Buildings
theepochtimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theepochtimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Neurologist and newlywed wife missing in Miami condo collapse
dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Demolition Experts Implode Partially Collapsed Florida Condo
orlandoecho.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from orlandoecho.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.