Block number 5 on Canigó Street was evacuated this Wednesday. It is the fourth building affected in the block between Canigó, Àusias March and Llefià streets. Days before, also due to cracks in the ceilings, numbers 7 and 11 were evacuated, which are already being shored up, attached to number 9, where the collapse occurred two weeks ago that killed three people.
In parallel, the Department of Territory held today the first meeting of the crisis cabinet created by the collapse of the roof of an apartment block on Canigó Street in Badalona on February 6, where there were three fatalities, and the subsequent damage that is suffering from this accident. Furthermore, to provide a joint and most effective response possible, it has already been agreed with the City Council itself and also with the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, as well as with Civil Protection and the Secretariat of Territory, Urban Planning and Urban Agenda, which will be incorporated from from now to that cabinet.
As reported to the media by the deputy mayor of Territori of the Badalona City Council, Dani Gracia, this morning, while they were meeting with the company hired to begin the inspection of the property, they received a call from number 5 about some cracks in the basement. . Gracia assured that "we are not ruling out any scenario."
By unanimous decision, the municipal technician, the specialized company and the Firefighters have decided to evacuate the property "indefinitely" "because there was a risk of imminent collapse," according to the deputy mayor.
Currently, the Guàrdia Urbana, at the request of the inspection company, is recording images with a drone of the roofs of the buildings on the block of buildings, all of them built in the 1950s to house police officers. The objective is to evaluate its condition and detect possible modifications or weight loads on the covers that could damage the structure, which for now is one of the hypotheses. And, as the council declared today in a statement, they are "properties built at the same time and by the same builder" as the one that collapsed.
On the other hand, Gracia has indicated that it is still too early "to draw conclusions" about the possible causes of the damage to the cracked buildings, taking into account that the inspections have just begun. "We will go block by block and three teams will work to go as fast as possible." Now, she warns of the seriousness of the situation.
Likewise, the deputy mayor explained that the collapsed building and the three evacuated due to cracks make up a total of 80 homes. The evacuation, however, affects 76 families, since four houses are not inhabited. At the moment, there are seven families that have needed housing assistance, not counting number 5.
Furthermore, given the magnitude of the situation, Gracia added that although housing aid is for 48 hours, through the emergency decree that the city council approved when number 9 collapsed, they are trying to prolong it. Regarding the rest of the evacuated buildings, only two people have been accommodated in a hostel and another in a specialized center, as advised by their illness.
Finally, Gracia has indicated that they are looking for "ways of help and financing" through other administrations, in the event that works have to be done. For the moment, the City Council will be in charge of the inspections and will study how to pass the cost on the affected communities. The Generalitat, as Minister Ester Capellà stated, is trying to set up a help line, but as the mayor, Xavier Garcia Albio, assured, "we cannot wait for them to decide, we must act immediately."
