The structural failure occurred on November 12, 2020. The bridge is located in Alexander County and failed amid heavy rainfalls that have recently struck the region.
Tropical Storm Eta has impacted North Carolina causing intense floods. According to reports, there have been at least 3 more bridge failures in the county. Moreover, at least 7 people have been reported dead amid the flood incidents.
Amber Roberts, a reported that was live on TV reporting the impact of floods in the area, walked across the bridge to get a closer look at the floodwaters below when a section, located few meters away from the crew, failed. The amazing footage can be found below.
“This bridge is literally sinking. Take a look at the ground. You can see it caving in," reporter Roberts said right before the bridge gave way.
The video shows that water washed away a section of the bridge measuring 2-3 meters in width. There is still not enough evidence to derive the mechanism of the collapse but it may be associated with bridge scour that had reduced the integrity of the structure's piers.
Fortunately, neither reporter Roberts nor the operator were injured. The team then returned to safety. "It was definitely a scary situation for me and my photojournalist. We just had to be calm in the moment, to step back and hope for the best, and thankfully we are ok, but what is far from ok is this road," Roberts, concluded.
Sources: Independent, Today, Prevention
