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John Hancock Center scaffold collapse - March 9, 2002
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Chicago is the windy city, and around 1.45 today, winds of up to 60 mph (that's only 15 mph below hurricane force) blew loose a scaffold rigged 43 storeys above street level on the John Hancock Center. Part of the scaffold collapsed to street level; the remaining piece (top of the pic), hanging by a single rope, was blown by the wind in such a way that it acted as a battering ram. For hours it smashed into windows and causing glass and office-related debris to rain upon North Michigan Avenue and Chestnut St. below. The rig that collapsed is actually a common sight on the Hancock, at least as long as I've lived near the building. Why it was not lowered to street level before gale-force winds will surely be a matter for the courts to decide. |
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A total of 3 cars were crushed by the section of scaffold that collapsed, killing 3 and critically injuring 4. This is the intersection of North Michigan Avenue and East Chestnut, looking northwest. |
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East Chestnut St was littered with broken glass and debris as items fell from offices whose windows were blown out. I managed to scavenge 2 fibreglass pieces of the scaffold that had blown away. As I took this picture, a piece of glass landed in the street near me and a cop yelled at me to get away. (The Hancock is the black building in the far right.) |
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NBC 5 sets up shop on Chestnut St. as the reporter struggles to stand in the high winds. |
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The scene looking from Bloomingdale's (900 N Michigan) southeast at Water Tower Place. |
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4 windows on the west side blown out by the wind. |