January 23, 2016
The roof of a Trader Joe's store in Westfield, N.J. collapsed Saturday afternoon as powerful blizzard conditions caused destruction, flooding and widespread power outages in large parts of the state.
According to authorities, the incident occurred around 2 p.m. at the grocer's location on 155 Elm Street, NBC 4 reports. About a foot of snow had fallen at that point in the afternoon.
Two of the store's walls bowed in and the majority of the roof followed, with the exception of a small portion toward the rear of the building, an official told NJ.com. The preliminary cause of the incident appears to be weather rather than an obvious structural deficiency, Westfield Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Brennan said.
BREAKING: Roof collapsing under weight of snow at Trader Joe's in #Westfield - @MarcSantia4NY on scene #nbc4ny pic.twitter.com/81hwwXrcAb
— Steven Bognar (@Bogs4NY) January 23, 2016
There were no injuries reported at the scene.
A similar incident occurred Saturday afternoon at a Safeway in Bel Air, Md., where 30 inches of snow had fallen by 4 p.m. All store employees and customers were accounted for and no injuries were reported.
