Did the patio collapse before, during, or after the buildings collapsed? Currently unknown.
The broken pipe did not cause any damage - it just made a mess.
The building is constructed to survive sustained 150 mph winds and torrential rain for one hour.
All the floors and the roof are poured concrete with rebar.
There are 18 inch poured concrete and rebar columns every 20-25 feet that extend from the lowest parking level straight up to the roof.
The building closest to the ocean that pancaked had at least 20 columns under it. How that structure just collapsed - how all 20 columns failed at the exact same moment - how it fell down in a perfectly straight line - is a mystery that no one has explained yet.
The swimming pool was intact and full of water during the first news chopper broadcasts at sunrise. However, a large section of the patio directly west of the pool did collapse.
Did the patio collapse before, during, or after the buildings collapsed? Currently unknown.
Wasn’t talking about just a broken pipe, but long-term water erosion — the kind that goes straight down. That said, you raised good points.
I haven’t made any conclusions.
That’s how they fall....straight down. Gravity wins.
The working theory is that the patio collapsed first. This is based on description by woman standing on her balcony, describing the collapse of the pool deck to her husband via phone, immediately before she fell to her death.
Did the patio collapse before, during, or after the buildings collapsed? Currently unknown.