Residents of an apartment building in the central city of Lod were evacuated from their homes due to concerns that the building is in danger of collapse.
The concerns surfaced after it was noticed that one of the poles supporting a corner of the building at 2 Tzemach Tzedek Street, located in the heart of the Chabad-Lubavitch community, had deep cracks.
A building engineer who submitted a report to the city's Engineering Department declared that there is a severe and immediate danger that the pole will collapse and the building will lose all stability. The city's engineer, who arrived at the scene, also declared that there is a real danger to the building's structure, and that the building is in danger of collapsing. She therefore instructed the evacuation of all of the residents in the building's eight apartments.
Lod Mayor Yair Revivo instructed the entire municipality to work together immediately in order to prevent any danger to the building's residents. The residents are being housed temporarily in a nearby synagogue.
A construction engineer has been called to examine whether it is possible to strengthen the foundations and poles of the building, and to immediately increase its supports.
In a statement, the municipality said that the building will remain empty until the completion of the professional assessment and the receipt of the opinion of the city's engineer. The statement added that all of the residents have been evacuated, and no one was injured.
Revivo said, "I thank all of those in the municipality and emergency services who immediately joined the effort to prevent any danger to the building's residents, as well as the Chabad Community Committee for its quick actions during this time of emergency."
The Lod municipality's Director General, Aharon Atias, said, "We are acting in accordance with instructions from the city's engineer, and we are at the same time examining how to strengthen the structure. Welfare sources are providing all possible aid to the evacuated residents."
