Photo by Road Less Trlvld CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
When something is installed in 1870, what will most likely happen to it? Right: it will break. That is exactly what happened Friday morning in Manhattan on West Broadway, between Duane Street and Thomas Street, when a water main broke.
The water main break flooded at least three blocks around the center of the incident. A couple of buildings had to be evacuated and 15 had water damage as water rushed in and flooded up to 4-feet-high. The subways and other transit systems were also delayed as a result of the high waters. Many area residents were without water services for several hours.
The street surrounding the area of the water main break buckled and caved, leaving two huge holes in the street. Officials stated the pipes broke because of old age. They were made of cast iron, which will suffer many damages after almost a century and a half of freezing, thawing, and heavy traffic overhead.
The buildings affected by the flooding waters were checked for structural damage. The length of broken pipe was found, removed, and replaced. Businesses should exercise caution before letting employees come into any flooded buildings that had to be evacuated: make sure the building has been declared “safe” first.
