Floors collapse in central Zutphen building, ten residents evacuated, no injuries

What happened

Part of an older building in the centre of Zutphen, a city in the Dutch province of Gelderland, partly collapsed on Saturday evening, 7 November. An inner wall gave way just after 23:00, and a floor came down in one of the homes. A second floor was largely down when the fire brigade inspected the building further, according to the Veiligheidsregio Noord- en Oost Gelderland. The property has a shop on the ground floor and several homes above, and its outer walls show cracks. Reports name the street differently: Kolenstraat in some, Lange Hofstraat in another.

“One of the partition walls collapsed, which also brought a floor down.”

Evacuations and residents

Ten people were evacuated, all of them residents of neighbouring homes. Nobody was inside the affected part of the building when it went wrong. Residents of the two sections where floors came down cannot return for now, and other accommodation is being sought for them. Residents of several nearby homes on Lange Hofstraat were allowed back. The evacuees were taken in by a café next door, and no injuries have been reported.

Inspection and gas supply

Fire crews and municipal building inspectors checked the structure, and the municipality's building supervision department assessed the stability of the walls with them. During the inspection a smell of gas was found in and around the building, and grid operator Liander shut off the gas. By around 02:00 on Sunday, 8 November, the fire brigade said the building was stable and could not collapse further. The municipality of Zutphen placed fencing around the property as a precaution.

Open questions

The cause of the collapse of the inner wall and the floors is not yet known. The owner said he was glad nobody had been inside and declined to comment further. The evacuated residents also declined to speak to reporters. Authorities have not yet said when the residents of the two affected sections can return home.