Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

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Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by DJKeefy »

The Egyptian authorities evacuated a 13-floor building in eastern Alexandria in the early hours of Wednesday morning after it toppled over to lean on the building opposite.

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Civil protection personnel went to the scene and found the newly-constructed building in Azarita. They immediately cut natural gas and electricity to the building and evacuated the tenants.

The authorities cordoned off the area around the collapsing building as a precautionary procedure in the case that it collapses further.

Alexandria Governor Mohamed Sultan said Thursday that all buildings adjacent to the collapsing building have been evacuated. The Alexandria tramway network in this area has been halted to prevent vibrations that may cause the building to disintegrate.

Sultan said in press statement that all necessary measures have been taken to provide emergency housing for the evacuees; there is coordination with the Social Solidarity Ministry to fulfill all their needs.

He explained that investigations have begun to find the cause of the collapse, stressing that all perpetrators and those responsible for the incident will be held accountable and referred to trial promptly.

Sultan said he immediately formed a committee comprised of representatives from the Engineering School, the Armed Forces and the Arab Contractors Company to intervene immediately and discuss the appropriate solution to demolish the building.

A security source who spoke on condition of anonymity to al-Masry al-Youm said the building was built in 2002 and a removal order was issued for it in 2004. However, the tenants opted to live in it at their personal risk.

Eng. Ali Morsi, head of the Central District in Alexandria, said the demolition of another 3-floor building, adjacent to the leaning building, led to the collapse of its the foundations.

Source: http://www.egyptindependent.com/egypt-e ... lexandria/


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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by newcastle »

I think it might make a nice new tourist attraction.

The Leaning Tower Block of Alexandria
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by Horus »

You couldn’t make this up :lol: :lol:
They immediately cut natural gas and electricity to the building and evacuated the tenants.
I would imagine that most tenants evacuated themselves in more ways than one as it went over.
The Alexandria tramway network in this area has been halted to prevent vibrations that may cause the building to disintegrate.
At least it will save on demolition.
He explained that investigations have begun to find the cause of the collapse,
let me guess, crap foundations?
Sultan said he immediately formed a committee comprised of representatives from the Engineering School, the Armed Forces and the Arab Contractors Company to intervene immediately and discuss the appropriate solution to demolish the building.
How about letting the tramway start up again, that should do it.

Whever I see these tall buildings in Egypt it always amazes me that they stay upright, maybe it was all those air con units on the same side that did it? ;)
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by newcastle »

It's been downhill ever since they built the pyramids.

Where are those aliens when you want them :lol:
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by Horus »

newcastle wrote:It's been downhill ever since they built the pyramids.

Where are those aliens when you want them :lol:
Or the ram pumps :lol:
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by DJKeefy »

Only in Egypt!!! What are they thinking? they can stabilise it or pull it back up with a small crane :roll:

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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by newcastle »

DJKeefy wrote:Only in Egypt!!! What are they thinking? they can stabilise it or pull it back up with a small crane :roll:

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The sad thing is.......you're not joking, are you Keefy.
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by Horus »

Had that building as much as dropped a few feet it would have catapulted that crane head over heels and I am not joking, what sort of idiot extends a jib crane up to a collapsing building? The mind boggles, what on earth were they trying to do?
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by DJKeefy »

No! What else do you think is sparking in the Egyptian mind :tk

Lets pull it back up, stabilise it with a few broken bricks, the people will be back in within an hour :lol:
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by Hafiz »

Tallest Building in World – Alexandria.

This mind-blowing proclamation got missed a year ago in the snow storm of announcements of new shinny things.

Whatever the problem the answer in Egypt is to build something new – preferably for rich people and well separated from the rest.

https://egyptianstreets.com/2016/04/18/ ... lexandria/

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But of course the Greeks built that. There are also to be some skyscrapers in the New Capital City.

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And this is the solution to what problem? Its like putting the finishing touches to Versailles in 1789.

There is also a proposal to build this (Zaha Haddad) alongside the hideous Foreign Ministry:
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Apparently a special law was passed for a very rich Cairo family to facilitate this building but those pesky students in 2011 stoped progress.

and this for Cairo;

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and this for Cairo (designed by a young Egyptian architect)
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Few if any will get built, but what the hell crank out the press releases – they make people feel good.

Back to the collapse. In 2013 the BBC said this about a building collapse in Alex.:

‘The BBC reported engineers as saying that every year around 20 buildings collapse in the city. Also in January, a building in Cairo collapsed, killing three people.’ http://www.globalconstructionreview.com ... em-alexan/

I know history repeats itself but I thought only if you don't learn from your mistakes.

Newcastle, my posting of images is hit and miss - I post them, see if they show up, then edit until I can get one that shows. Unfortunately it takes time.
Last edited by Hafiz on Fri Jun 02, 2017 7:55 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by newcastle »

Can you edit some of your image posts Hafiz...which aren't in the right format and hence don't appear.
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by newcastle »

newcastle wrote:Can you edit some of your image posts Hafiz...which aren't in the right format and hence don't appear.
Done. OK now. Thanks :up
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by HEPZIBAH »

And with all the Health and Safety Rules of Egypt demolition has begun.

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The big question on everyone's mind is what they are going to do when the building is down to the blue circle and no longer has another building to support it.
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by Horus »

It will probably crack like an egg before they get that far down and if they do then the sudden drop towards the other building as it passes the supporting point will cause the other vertical building to topple towards it. :urm:
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by HEPZIBAH »

I envisaged a similar scenario. The other building is already going to be compromised greatly for structural stability - even if it was built soundly in the first place.
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by Dusak »

It wasn't necessarily due to the demolition of a mere three story building that was next to it. Given the height of this structure, it was more likely down to weak or inefficient foundations given that it collapsed front and forwards. And also when this, or the smaller one was constructed first, they may have damaged a water main, or did a bad job of connecting the sewage. Its also a well know fact that if, as mentioned, a tram line is close by, then the constant ground vibrations when the concrete is first poured for those foundations, can create a sump affect, exposing the steel far to close to the surface of the concrete, thus weakening it. A cubic meter of concrete will take up to fifty years to finely cure at its center, or so it was when I did my concrete technology in collage. A structure of this height needs a lot of calculations concerning stress. load and movement, plus the exact correct mix of concrete and the correct gauge of box section of re-bar steel for the reinforcement. Somehow I tend to think that such things are worked out at a local coffee house, the cost being the most important issue.
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by Horus »

It has always amazed me they way that Egyptian high rise buildings seem to go up another floor level in a random way. Another set of supporting cast concrete columns get added to the bit of rebar left sticking up from an earlier pour of concrete and very often these are at an angle determined by a badly used spirit level and they are often visibly crooked. This then gets filled in with a single course of a fired fragile looking hollow insulating brick, hardly a robust construction. There are buildings in Cairo where a visible dog-leg profile can be seen on the sides as it goes upwards, it surprises me that many more do not collapse. :o
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by newcastle »

Horus wrote:It has always amazed me they way that Egyptian high rise buildings seem to go up another floor level in a random way. Another set of supporting cast concrete columns get added to the bit of rebar left sticking up from an earlier pour of concrete and very often these are at an angle determined by a badly used spirit level and they are often visibly crooked. This then gets filled in with a single course of a fired fragile looking hollow insulating brick, hardly a robust construction. There are buildings in Cairo where a visible dog-leg profile can be seen on the sides as it goes upwards, it surprises me that many more do not collapse. :o
I'm afraid many more do :(

EIPR launched today the interactive website egyptbuildingcollapses.org which visualises data and analysis gathered over the course of one year, July 2012 to June 2013, documenting 392 residential building collapses which resulted in 192 deaths and 824 families made homeless.

https://eipr.org/en/press/2014/06/why-d ... apse-egypt

You may need to sit down before reading the rest of the link :o
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by Horus »

Incredible, but what can be done about it when it appears that literally every and man and his dog who owns a spirit level and a shovel can put a building up. :(
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Re: Egypt evacuates toppling 13-floor building in Alexandria

Post by newcastle »

Horus wrote:Incredible, but what can be done about it when it appears that literally every and man and his dog who owns a spirit level and a shovel can put a building up. :(
Spirit level??

:))) :)))

T-square and plumb line if you're lucky....otherwise by "sight".
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