Cracked floors, bowed walls: Many warnings but no action at Iowa building before deadly collapse [View all]

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https://apnews.com/article/iowa-davenport-building-collapse-621844c0d6c206ced4639ddcf443eb80/gallery/333f6351b99a4d3294cbe5a2e1b76617

Cracked floors, bowed walls: Many warnings but no action at Iowa building before deadly collapse
By SCOTT McFETRIDGE, HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and HANNAH FINGERHUT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — So many people knew something wasn’t right at the 116-year-old Davenport apartment building.

The structural engineer who documented the shaky wall. The head of a masonry company who wouldn’t let his workers onto the site. The city inspector who threatened to close some units. A downtown official who called 911 and asked firefighters to take a look. And tenants who told of cracks in their floors and walls.

But no one ordered residents out, and it was only when a section of the six-story brick, steel and concrete building tumbled to the ground on the afternoon of May 28 that everyone seemed to connect the dots. Three men were dead, about 50 tenants were left homeless without their possessions and the city was faced with one of its taller buildings at risk of crumbling in the heart of its downtown.

Asked days after the collapse why residents hadn’t been warned, Davenport Mayor Mike Matson said, “I don’t know that anyone can anticipate a building collapsing.”

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Seen is the damage from a collapsed apartment building, Monday, June 5, 2023, in Davenport, Iowa. The six-story, 80-unit building partially collapsed May 28. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)


Cracks run along the floor and wall in an apartment rented by Shauna Dixon before a section of the 116-year-old Davenport apartment building later collapsed in May. The collapse left three dead, and about 50 homeless without their possessions. (Shauna Dixon via AP)


Cracks run along the wall and the window sill in an apartment rented by Shauna Dixon. (Shauna Dixon via AP)