We learned in Baltimore earlier this year that bridges aren’t as resilient as assumed. A bridge in the Philippines withstood the impact of multiple barges last week as Typhoon Gaemi, a Category 4 storm, swept across East Asia. The dramatic video of the crash shows a river’s rushing muddy current slam three bargesinto a low bridge’s road deck.
The footage was recorded by Alex Rellosa from her apartment balcony by the F. Manalo Bridge in Pasig, a city roughly 8 miles east of Manila. She told AFP, “I already heard screaming, that’s why I went out to the balcony. I saw there were people stranded on the barges.” The typhoon left a wake of destruction in its path, killing 21 people and displacing over a half-million others. The storm featured wind speeds up to 145 miles per hour and dumped a foot of rain on Manila.
While the barges didn’t destroy the bridge, the Philippines didn’t escape maritime disaster. The oil tanker MT Terra Nova capsized in Manila Bay while carrying almost 400,000 gallons of industrial oil, Reuters reports. The vessel began spilling oil as it sank. It’s not entirely clear how large the oil spill is, but it will be the largest in the country’s history.
