Goodness, me! A multi-storey building collapsed due to strong winds in Surat, the western Indian state of Gujarat recently. This 35-year-old dilapidated building started to tilt and an emergency evacuation was carried out before the building collapsed.
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From the photo you can see that there were two giant billboards on the terrace of the building. The billboards were supported using foundation columns as the base. It was speculated that these billboards is the major cause of this disaster as the strong wind with speeds around 12 – 20kph stroke the boards. For additional rental income, many buildings in India rent out their terraces to these commercial billboards advertisers. It is, in fact, very risky for the building owners.