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The worst of Superstorm Sandy has supposedly not even hit New York City at this hour. And already the façade of a four-story building in Chelsea, Manhattan has fallen off of the building leaving several comfortably decorated apartments exposed to high winds, rain, and whatever else the storm decides to hurl their way.
Collapsed Construction Crane Threatening West Midtown Manhattan
And a large construction crane atop a 65-story luxury skyscraper on Manhattan’s west side in Midtown has collapsed. Dramatic TV footage showed a substantial portion of the heavy crane dangling precariously over the street. Local streets have been closed off and adjacent buildings have been evacuated for safety. If high winds cause the massive crane to continue all the way over the side of the roof, parts of the crane could tear into the adjacent buildings as well as crushing anything in the street below.
News reports of the exact location of the collapsed crane indicate it could be looming above the 7th Avenue subway line, in which case a fall of the heavy piece of equipment could break through the street into the subway below. Much of New York City’s subway system was constructed very efficiently back in the day by digging out the street, installing the subway in the resulting trench, and covering over the train tunnel with a relatively thin layer of support that includes the tunnel roof and the street above.
The support is sufficient to support even NYC’s heavy truck traffic that brings supplies into the city. But whether it could withstand the impact of a heavy construction crane falling from 65 stories above is unlikely.
Surging Superstorm Sandy Swamping Coastal Areas
So far, Superstorm Sandy has caused a storm surge in the NYC area previously unseen since storm data has been recorded in the area. The next-closest storm surge dates from 1822 or so. Sandy has flooded subway tunnels, a tunnel connecting Brooklyn to and even the large aboveground highway arteries in east and west Manhattan. Damage from the storm is currently estimated to reach $20 billion, but I suspect it will run even higher once all costs are tabulated. There are some losses on which one can’t even put a real price.
Continued in Part 2.