By Nicole Froio, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The front part of a building in Niterói fell down at around 9:30PM on Friday, December 15th due to strong winds that hit the city. The building, number 354 in Barão de Mauá street, was blocked off because of a huge crack that opened on Thursday.
The authorities said the property was decaying overtime, and fourteen families were made homeless.
A resident of a close by house, Mirna Moraes, told O Globo: “The front part of the building fell with the windows, all that was left was the back part of the house. It made a huge noise, I’m afraid the rest of the building will fall too.”
She added the building is 72 years old and has been in a dangerous state for years, showing big cracks in previous years.
Before the building collapsed, the residents of the house were not warned of the worst case scenario, and were removed from their homes and put under a marquee while the whole street was closed.
Rio was shaken in January 2012 after the collapse of three buildings – one twenty stories high – in Centro on Avenida Treze de Maio – killed seventeen people. Officials have since announced more stringent preventative measures and enforcement by authorities.
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