2012 collapse of Rio de Janeiro buildings
| Time | 8:33PM |
|---|---|
| Date | 25 January 2012 |
| Location | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Coordinates | 22°54′30.42″S 43°10′36.89″W / 22.9084500°S 43.1769139°W |
| Also known as | Vieira Fazenda office block collapse |
| Cause | Illegal Renovations |
| Deaths | 17 |
The January 25, 2012 Vieira Fazenda office block collapse involved the progressive collapse of 3 commercial office buildings, split by R. Vieira Fazenda street in the municipality of Praça Floriano, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The three buildings involved were (from west to east): Building 1 (a 22-story[1] building located at Av. Alm. Barroso, 6 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro, 20031-000, Brazil), Building 2 (a 23-story[2] building located at Av. Alm. Barroso, 22 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro, 20031-000, Brazil) and Building 3 (a 6-story[3] building located at Av. Rio Branco, 180 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro, 20040-003, Brazil).
At 8:33 PM,[4] the 23-story Building 2, began collapsing in the eastward direction towards the 6-story Building 3, which was located on the opposite side of R. Vieira Fazenda street. Building 2 was structurally connected to the adjoining 22-story Building 1, which caused it to pull Building 1 laterally eastward during its collapse. This extreme lateral shift caused the failure of enough support columns to result in the collapse of Building 1. As Building 2 continued its collapse in the eastward direction, its debris crashed through the roof and western load bearing wall of the 6-story Building 3, causing it to collapse as well.
A total of 17 people were killed in the disaster. The initial collapse of the 23-story Building 2, was due to structural failure. Regulators said that any construction done violated local building codes as there were no construction permits on file for the building.[5]
Aftermath
By January 31, 2012, Rio officials proposed the creation of new regulations, including periodic reports on building's structural conditions, and more rigorous enforcement of the current regulations.[6]
References
- ↑ Due to conflicting media reports, the number of floors were confirmed visually by looking at the Google Maps Street View photograph of the site prior to collapse and counting the number of floors in Building 1.
- ↑ Due to conflicting media reports, the number of floors were confirmed visually by looking at the Google Maps Street View photograph of the site prior to collapse and counting the number of floors in Building 2.
- ↑ Due to conflicting media reports, the number of floors were confirmed visually by looking at the Google Maps Street View photograph of the site prior to collapse and counting the number of floors in Building 3.
- ↑ The CCTV recording of the collapse displays a time stamp of when the collapse took place.
- ↑ Lyons, John (27 January 2012). "Deadly Building Collapse Tests Rio". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Tavener, Ben (31 January 2012). "Rio Responds to Building Collapses". The Rio Times. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
External links
- Rio de Janeiro building collapse leaves four dead, 22 missing (National Post, 26/01/2012)
- Rio buildings collapse, killing at least 6 people (CBCNews, 26/01/2012)
- Six dead after Rio de Janeiro building collapse (BBC News, 27/01/2012)
- Death toll rises as hopes fade in Brazil buildings collapse (CNN, 28/01/2012)