Intro: The Missouri Health Department has evacuated three of its buildings in Jefferson City due to heavy snow on the buildings' roofs.
Nanci Gonder, the Public Information Officer for the Missouri Health Department says the roofs of the three building were designed to withstand 20 pounds per cubic foot.
She estimates that the roofs were sagging under 25-28 pounds of snow.
Gonder says the buildings were evacuated after employees heard creaking and groaning coming from the ceilings.
She also says the employees noticed physical changes in the buildings.
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| Description: Gonder says employees noticed that ceiling sprinklers were hanging lower |
In total, about 800 employees were evacuated.
Gonder says employees with essential duties were relocated and that most other employees would be able to work from home using e-mail, internet, and phones.
From Jefferson City, I'm Beverly Rivera.
Intro: The Missouri Health Department evacuated three of its Jefferson City buildings due to heavy snow on the buildings' roofs.
Interim spokesman for the Governor, Brian Hauswirth, says employees in the three buildings heard loud noises coming from the ceilings.
Hauswirth says the department's employees were sent home after a City Engineer discovered an excess amount of weight on the buildings' roofs.
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| Description: Hauswirth says the fear was that the buildings would collapse |
The Governor's spokesman says most employees are on administrative leave.
He says some employees were relocated to other city buildings and others would be working from their homes.
From Jefferson City, I'm Beverly Rivera.
Intro: Three Missouri Department of Health buildings were evacuated in Jefferson City due to the amount of snow on the buildings' roofs.
Richard AuBuchon, Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Administration, says the roofs were exceeding their weight capacity.
He says the buildings were deemed unsafe and evacuated.
AuBuchon says the Health Department is waiting for a certificate of reentry before allowing its employees to return to work.
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| Description: AuBuchon says the certificate could be as informal as the fire chief saying the building is safe |
The assistant commissioner says engineers are working to remove the snow from the building's roofs.
He says the buildings should be safe within a day.
From the State Capitol, I'm Beverly Rivera.
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
