Still in use where I am today! But... given the plant is nearly 50 years old (and talk about steel reinforced concrete...), it still runs very well today.
That stuff is designed to last for decades. We still have stuff from the 1980's where I work.
If your nickname here implies what you do for a living, you know what I'm talking about!
Not surprising. If the building had major structural issues it would have failed a long time ago. People gotta remember - something like this isn't caused by a single event but a series of events in the days/hours/minutes leading up to the collapse, caused by prolonged deferred / neglected /...
It's highly likely that the video of the collapse didn't start (at least the one we've all been seeing) until after the collapse began. You can be sure that the camera and NVR system where this recording took place is in the possession of investigators for further analysis.
There is likely...
Coaling towers were designed to hold many tons of coal. You still see some standing today because of the costs of demolition. Condos are designed to hold basically itself, some furniture, people and air. As we saw recently, it doesn't take much to bring one down.
That's because it's still an active criminal investigation. Patience... in time the facts will come out. But I think we have a fairly good idea of what happened and why.
HVAC units are a non-issue here. I don't know why people keep bringing them up.
If it was a car that took out a column, they've would have pulled out a car from the rubble with significant front-end damage consistent with that of a car hitting a tree. So far nothing like that has happened...
The roof anchors are a non-issue here. They're used for fall-protection tie-offs. If some hammer drilling and Hilti's are compromising the structural integrity of a roof, you have way way bigger problems going on here. They're a moot point... so why even bother discussing it?
If the parapet...
It's like the 'bathtub' underneath the World Trade Center - a lot of attention went to shoring it up during the recovery / cleanup efforts after 9/11. Looks like in this case, the 'bathtub' under the condo here had some leaks.
This probably isn't the place to get into the global warming climate change hoax debate. But... it's generally sage advice not to build/develop on the waterfront either. Sooner or later, mother nature will win - whether it be storms, erosion, flooding, rising sea levels, whatever the case may...
Some thoughts on the past 5 pages of this thread.
Security cameras - the outdoor surveillance video of the building collapsing - you can bet that camera / NVR / hard drive / SD card, etc... are all in a secure place for further analysis / evidence. There are a number of neighboring properties...
