BRASILIA, Brazil — A retaining wall being used to stabilize a slope collapsed at a construction site in Brasilia, Brazil’s capital.
The incident occurred at a townhouse complex on May 2 and was reported by nearby residents, who felt earth tremors that morning. However, it was not immediately known if the quakes caused the collapse, or if something else did.
When the fire department arrived at the scene, they found a large amount of displaced soil, due to the rupture of the retaining wall. Local media reported that part of the area lost power.
According to the fire department, no construction workers were present during the collapse, and no one was injured.
The location is isolated, and the Civil Defense was called in to evaluate the damage.
Energy Company of Brasilia and Federal District Environmental Sanitation Company were also present.
In the past 30 days, Brazil endured 10 quakes of magnitude 5.0 or above, 66 quakes between 4.0 and 5.0, 403 quakes between 3.0 and 4.0, and 584 quakes between 2.0 and 3.0. (Quakes of 5.0 and below typically cause relatively little damage.)
(Edited by Fern Siegel and Matthew B. Hall)
