Due to the nearly record breaking snow fall in Anchorage Alaska this year, the 14th roof collapsed on Friday afternoon at the loading dock of the VA clinic in East Anchorage.
The 80 foot long by 16 feet wide loading dock roof folded up under the weight of the heavy snow. Still intact, the roof fell to a vertical position against a wall. The VA Clinic won an award “Excellence in Construction” from the Associated General Contractors of Alaska when the clinic opened in 2010.
No Reported injuries So Far
The City Building Safety Department investigations indicated most of the roof collapses were older buildings with flat roofs. Fortunately no one has been injured in the collapses.
Current Anchorage codes requires new roofs to be built to withstand 40 pounds of snow per square foot, each foot of snow weighs about 20 pounds per depth of 1 foot. Spring rains could saturate the snow and make it much heavier, leading to an increased risk of requiring roof repair.
Homeowners should be aware how deep the snow is on their roofs, if the snow is over two feet deep, there may be a problem. They should also be aware of other danger signals such as unusual sounds, creaking or cracking wood and walls starting to bow.
