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Wall Collapses at Building Site due to Heavy Rains


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Look what poor drainage, construction mismanagement, and a lack of inspection/enforcement can lead to. Fortunately no one was killed or injured.

Wall Collapses at Building site in Costa del Este

A wall collapsed this afternoon at a building site in Costa del Este .

 

A dramatic video of the incident shows the wall giving way and collapsing, along with scaffolding and a generator that was on top of it. José Donderis, director of the civil defense agency Sinaproc, confirmed that the incident happened due to heavy rains in the area.

According to preliminary reports there were no injuries.

http://www.prensa.com/in_english/desploma-contencion-edificio-construccion-Costa_21_4587501211.html

Edited by Keith Woolford
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Work halted on building where wall collapsed

Work has been halted at a building where a five-story retaining wall collapsed Friday afternoon in Costa del Este.

The decision was announced by Minister of Labor Luis Ernesto Carles during an inspection of the accident site Saturday.

Carles said the work would be halted until an investigation by city engineers and the civil defense agency Sinaproc is finished.

The decision was taken to avoid any risk to the workers, Carles added. Similarly he ordered the cleaning of the area to avoid any other problems.

Technicians from Sinaproc were at the site Saturday morning inspecting the damage.

The company Bern Construction is in charge of the project.

http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Costa-Ordenan-paralizacion-colapso-contencion_21_4588251130.html

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Facts.

The Costa del Este area used to be a mangrove area + a garbage landfill.  So the soil conditions are not so good and foundations works, retaining walls should be addressed accordingly.

Recently we have had strong and heavy rain in Panama City.  It was raining yesterday when the wall collapsed.  I think there's a combination of things in this terrible problem.  Soil conditions become an issue when is totally saturated with water.  Water is dynamic and adds more stress to any structure.  Second looks like the anchor rods used to secure the retaining wall to the soil failed because the soil did not give to much support.  Third engineers experts should check the calculations of the retaining wall and determine if the other sections of the retaining wall have the same problems and should be reinforced or demolished.

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