Two cranes have collapsed in Miami as Hurricane Irma slammed into Florida on Sunday.
Hurricane force winds have hit the city, even as the center of the storm has tracked west and the eye made landfall out in the Florida Keys.
Reports of a crane in downtown Miami, one of more than 20 in the city, said that the arm, or “boom,” of the crane, was spinning and later collapsed in the late morning.
The city of Miami tweeted that a “tower crane has collapsed on top of a high rise under construction at 300 Biscayne Blvd. AVOID THE AREA!!” The vertical part of the crane still appears to be standing.
One of our employees captured this crane boom and counterweight collapse in downtown #Miami this morning. #HurrcaneIrma https://t.co/NNlLvtIAQ0
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) September 10, 2017
A witness speaking on CNN, Miami resident Gideon Ape, said he heard a “loud crack” and a “boom” when the crane broke.
A second crane collapse was reported in the afternoon.
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Collapsed crane is dangling from an unfinished high rise *NE 30th Terrace* in Miami. #HurricaneIrma @NBC6 pic.twitter.com/V9Q0UDj0R1
— Michael Spears NBC6 (@MikeSpearsNBC6) September 10, 2017
Though there had been concern about falling cranes prior to the storm’s landfall, officials didn’t said they didn’t have time to move them away.
WOW! Crane collapse from Hurricane Irma this morning in Miami, Florida. Photo credit: Gideon J. Ape. #Hurricane #Irma #FLwx pic.twitter.com/69R5QKYTJ6
— Mark Tarello (@mark_tarello) September 10, 2017
Officials said that these cranes are built to withstand 140 miles per hour, according to CNN.
