Residents at an apartment complex in Ohio have been evacuated from their apartments the day before Christmas Eve after a two-story underground parking garage collapsed.
Structural engineers and fire officials are investigating the collapse of the complex at Marine Towers West that took place Thursday morning in Lakeland, Ohio, ABC 5 reported.
It is believed that no one was in the garage at the time of the collapse and no injuries have been reported, according to Lakewood Fire Chief Tim Dunphy.
Residents have been instructed to evacuate the building for at least 24 hours while the cause of the collapse and the safety of the residence is being determined.
The building, which consists of 171 apartments, was built in the early 1960s and is inspected annually, county records show.
A two-story underground parking garage at an apartment complex in Lakeland, Ohio, collapsed Thursday morning
The parking garage is adjacent to the Marine Towers West apartment building which consists of 171 apartments
'Fairly sizable collapse of what we call a pancake collapse. The upper deck collapsed onto the first-floor deck and subsequently, sections of the first floor came down,' Dunphy explained.
The exact number of residents being displaced is unclear, authorities said. The number of vehicles that were parked in the garage at the time of the collapse is also yet to be determined.
Witnesses said they heard a loud boom and then felt a gust of wind and the ground shake.
Miguel Barrios, who lives in the Marine Towers West apartments, evacuated the building this morning after he saw the collapsed garage.
'I heard what seemed like an explosion, the entire building trembled, followed by strong wind. I thought it was an earthquake, until I heard the sirens approaching.
'That's when I approached the windows and saw the collapsed garage. We had to evacuate,' Barrios said according to TMX.
Other residents also evacuated the building after hearing sirens.
Residents of the Marine Towers West building were evacuated for at least 24 hours Thursday morning as authorities investigate the cause of the collapse
No injuries were reported and video footage had led authorities to believe no one was inside
'I looked out the window and saw everyone running around and hearing people saying 911 so I ran,' a woman said.
But some residents weren't aware of the collapse until after it happened.
'It felt kinda like an earthquake. I didn't think anything of it because it gets pretty windy. I actually found out from a buddy who texted me a story online and a picture of it. So I thought I better go and investigate it,' another resident of the Marine West Tower said.
The collapse and evacuation of the structure in Ohio comes six months after the deadly collapse of Miami's Champlain Towers South that killed 98 people.
That apartment building had structural issues that had been reported to the city prior to the collapse.
The Champlain Towers South collapse became one of the deadliest building collapses in U.S. history and sparked structural reviews of building and regulations throughout South Florida.
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