Chicago, IL, January 12, 1996 (ENN)--At approximately 16:30p.m. (EST) today, the roof of the Waldbaum's Supermarket at Jerusalem Ave. and Hicksville Road, in N. Massapequa, NY, came crashing down in a checkout lane. At least twenty (20) people were reported injured in the collapse, thankfully, only two or three of them seriously. Numerous fire, police, and EMS agencies responded to assist in the extrication of people trapped by the falling debris. According to the Nassau County Police, the accident appeared to be weather related, due to heavy accumulations of snow and ice on the supermarket roof.
As was feared and predicted, in an ERRI building collapse warning that was issued on 01/11/96, numerous building roofs have collapsed all over the East coast. A nursing home roof caved in Clinton, MD and residents were evacuated until the severity of the damage could be assessed. The ceiling of St. Philips Episcopal Church in New York City also succumbed to the weight of the snow on Friday, causing an estimated $1.5 million dollars in damage. No injuries were reported, according to church officials.
One minor injury was reported at another structural failure at the Linens 'n Things store on Long Island, NY. Several others narrowly escaped injury because the noise of the failing roof supports gave nearly everyone time to escape. Large snow-packed sections of roofs also gave way in Newark, Del, and Pawtucket, R.I. , according to Associated Press (AP) reports.
Emergency officials in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island all issued public advisories today, warning the public to remove snow from flat and shallow angle roofs. Building officials in several states said that besides complete collapse, many buildings are also suffering from snow associated leaks and water damage.
Many Northeastern roofing contractors have reportedly been swamped with repair requests for cracked and fallen ceilings, broken tiles, and large puddles of water in people's living rooms. One veteran roofer said that the situation could get worse as continuing rain saturates already snow-covered roofs, freezes, and then thaws. The additional weight, contraction, and expansion of the heavy snow could cause more leaks or even result in additional disasters for unprepared home and business owners.
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