THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606160043
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: 21 lines
Wind gusts during a late-afternoon thunderstorm flattened an unfinished bank building on Ehringhaus Street Friday.
When the structure began to collapse, several workers escaped injury by ducking into a completed concrete vault.
Although a meteorologist at the Coast Guard Air Station here said peak wind velocity during the storm was only about 52 mph, the blocklong building under construction for the Branch Bank & Trust Co. was almost destroyed.
The bank was being built of galvanized steel two-by-fours and other metal framing. Plywood panels were in place on much of the roof.
Fire officials did not give a damage estimate late Saturday, but it appeared the building would have to be completely rebuilt.
KEYWORDS: STORM DAMAGE by CNB