ALARM IN LONDON

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 119, 10 August 1927, Page 9

ALARM IN LONDON

UNSAFE BUILDINGS RUSH FOR INSURANCE THE CORNHILL COLLAPSE -By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright LONDON, Monday. Experts state that many of the old stone buildings in London are rotten at their foundation, and that it is miraculous they have not collapsed like packs of cArds. §OME day a whole building will collapse without warning, the experts predict, and then the problem will be recognised as a really serious one. Of an even greater danger are the overhanging cornices and projecting ornaments which are said to be liable to fall at any time. In many cases tons of masonry might crash down into crowded streets. The fears of the experts are not based on the cause of the Cornhill disaster but on the disintegrating influence of the London atmosphere. There is also the more modern problem of petrol fumes which settle as a deposit on stonework. Insurance companies report that a rush to insure city buildings has set in. The closing of Cornhill and Lombard Street has created the worst traffic jamb in the history of London. In spite of the efforts of the most experienced traffic officers vehicles steadily line up in streams and have to wait nearly an hour. To-day motor-buses, lorries, taxis and cars were wedged in an unbroken line which stretched half-way across the city. Bus journeys which usually take five minutes occupied an hour. It was necessary continually to change routes. Quiet streets which are no wider than ordinary vehicles and are customarily prohibited to traffic were crowded all day. Cornhill and Lombard Street will be closed for several days, and this will cause a very grave problem with which the authorities will have to deal.—A. and N.Z.