It said on the news that since this was an ‘act of God’, the automobile losses were not covered by insurance. -ouch
From what I have read, the problem is the retaining wall, which collapsed from water pressure because of poor drainage. Was the wall CSX’s responsibility? Residents had complained about it prior to the collapse.
What were the complaints prior to the collapse?
Cracks in the street running parallel to the wall, primarily. The city merely patched those cracks. Since the retaining wall is about 120 years old, seems likely it was there long before the paved road.
Those cracks would be an obvious indication that the wall was failing. I would expect that the cracks were accompanied by corresponding bulge in the wall. Regardless of who owned the wall, it sounds like the city failed to protect the public safety if they had any responsibility for that role.
Comments on the articles I have read state that the fact that the wall was failing was common knowledge, and the city and CSX were fighting over who had to pay to fix it (perhaps for a couple of years). It’ll be interesting to see what happens next.
This will be the cornerstone of the Maryland Lawyers Full Employment Act for the next several years.
Well no. IF the auto owner was carrying comprehensive coverage (not required) his/her automobile would be covered for damage by an “Act of God”. i.e., if the wind brings down a tree limb on the auto the damage is covered by insurance.
Now, depending on the policy, there may be an exclusion for “Movement of the Earth”. But just the fact that it was an "Act of God’ won’t invalidate the insurance. If your insured house gets damaged or destroyed by wind you have a valid insurance claim. If it gets damaged or destroyed by an earthquake you generally don’t.
State by state, company by company, policy by policy, it may or may not be paid.
Insurance policies can be almost comical sometimes. The policy for my new sailboat back in the 70’s said that it was not covered in case of nuclear explosion, but it was covered if it caught on fire as a result of the heat from a nuclear explosion. After the devastation of a nuclear blast, I could picture the lawyers arguing over that detail.
Why didn’t city ban parking there ?
If the city and CSX were fighting about who should fix the failing retaining wall, then it sounds more like the inaction of men, rather than an act of God.
Officially no comment, as the blame isn’t fully assigned yet?
This incident raises many questions that Balt may be can answer.
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At first though this was Howard St tunnel due to similar rock work. What is it ?
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Who built the original track ?.
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Retaining wall built at same time or later and by who ?
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Was the track to tunnel entrance ever undercut or lowered to increase clearances after wall built ? If so was sheet piling installed along wall ?
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Had any wall anchors been installed / added to hold wall in place ?
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Were houses across from track when track built ?
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Was wall part of street installation ?
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Was there drainage installed behind wall ? If so were they clogged ?
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What type of piping for sanitary and storm water flowing under street ? How often inspected for leaks ?
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Condition of and type of water lines ?
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How much was the actual reported wall bulge ?
Other questions ?
The incident occurred on what is termed the Baltimore Belt Line and is about 5000 feet North (TT East) of the North (TT East) end of the Howard Street tunnel. The Belt Line has a series of street underpass tunnels - these tunnels are between 100 and 300 feet long. The Belt Line is in a cut for most of it’s distance of 3.8 miles from CP Huntingdon Avenue (which got destroyed by the slide) and CP Clifton Park.
The original construction was done under the auspices of the Baltimore Belt Railway Company, an identity created for the construction of the line by the B&O from Camden Station to Bay View yard where it joined the Main that was used in car ferry days for trains destined Philadelphia. Construction dates from the ear