Holy shit.

[katallison]

The 35W bridge in downtown Minneapolis has collapsed, totally, into the Mississippi River. This is a *major* freeway, right in the heart of the city, between the university and downtown. It fell at the height of rush hour, when it was jammed with traffic. It's not on my daily commute, but I drive across it all the time.

I wasn't on it. lapillus wasn't either, thankfully. But lots and lots of people were, some of whom may be friends or colleagues of mine or hers--there aren't any reports yet of casualties, but you know there are going to be plenty. Hell, there's a Twins game tonight, and 35W is the main access to the stadium.

My power went out (probably when the bridge went down) and so I didn't even know this had happened until someone called me. Now my power's back, but I can't get my TV working, so I'm trying to find streams online. I find, though, that my head isn't working very well, and my hands are shaking.

I just -- I don't know what to say. God almighty.

Comments

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

I saw this story just now and my first thought was "Shit! Is Kat okay?" And I hope all the other Minnesotans and their loved ones I know from fandom are as well. :-(

Bridge collapse

[taverymate.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness you're OK! I was hoping that you weren't involved but the location made me worry, as I said a short time ago in reply to Jackie's post. The cable news channels are now running pictures and news non-stop so try CNN and MSNBC (Keith Olberman has turned his usual Countdown program over to the disaster coverage). I fear the number of fatalities can only rise, but hope that all your friends and colleagues are OK.

Take care. I'm not surprised you're shaken; anyone in such close proximity to such a disaster would be.

[drlense.livejournal.com]

cnn.com is streaming- and they're reporting on tv that the construction may have cut the lanes down to 1 lane going each way. I pray that's the case, although they can't confirm it.

I hope everyone in your life is okay and not there.

[nestra.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'm glad you're okay, and I hope for the best.

[chickwriter.livejournal.com]

Oh, sweetie - how horrible!!

Glad you're okay and sending you loads of hugs.

[vickita.livejournal.com]

::hugs you::

[misspamela.livejournal.com]

Oh my god. I am so glad you're okay!

[lyra-sena.livejournal.com]

jesus H, I'm glad you're okay. We're watching the news coverage now, it's beyond horrific.

[the-shoshanna.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, that's horrible. I'm so glad you're okay...

[brynnmck.livejournal.com]

Holy shit. I'm very glad you're OK. My husband went to Macalester and we have a lot of friends in the Twin Cities--I'm hoping they're all OK, and of course your friends and colleagues, too. But regardless, holy shit.

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

We're on holiday, so this is the first that I've heard of it.

I'm so glad that you're safe and hoping that other friends out there are safe also.

[umbo.livejournal.com]

Jesus. I'm really relieved you're okay, and I hope everyone else is as well.

[copernica3.livejournal.com]

Yeesh. Olbermann is saying that it was a very lucky thing, that way fewer people were hurt than could have been. But the pictures are kind of terrible. I'm glad you are okay.

[geekturnedvamp.livejournal.com]

God, I'm so sorry and so glad you're okay--sending good thoughts for you and everyone's loved ones in Minneapolis right now.

*hugs*

[heuradys.livejournal.com]

I haven't been able to stop shaking yet. Our power across from Nye's dipped right about when it happened. We didn't find out until my mom called us; we're hoping coworkers weren't involved, too. From Nicollet Island, we could see where the bridge wasn't.

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

another friend of mine just sent me a link to the story. VERY scary stuff. eek.

i hope no one you know has been hurt. :/ it's too much to hope that no one has been hurt -- I saw the pics on cnn.

[minim_calibre]

I'm glad you're okay. I hope as many people as humanly possible there are okay.

[riadsala.livejournal.com]

I was browsing friendsfriends when I came across this and just froze. I grew up in MN and my parents still commute into Minneapolis every day. Thankfully, they are both fine; they use the Washington Ave. bridge to cross, but still. I almost didn't want to call them, because what if they hadn't been? I'm actually finding this hard to type because I'm shaking so.

Urg, sorry for splewing all over your post. I'm glad you're okay.

[dine.livejournal.com]

I just heard about this and I'm so glad to hear you're ok - now I'm fretting about other folks in the area.

[brooklinegirl.livejournal.com]

jesus christ. that's unbelievable. I am so, so glad you're okay, Kat, and am thinking of everyone ELSE there, too.

(I may have just called Liz and freaked her out a wee little bit with a "HI PLEASE CALL YOUR FAMILY IN MINNEAPOLIS" message. But they're fine. Thank god.)

[aerye.livejournal.com]

Your post sent me scurrying to the phone to talk to family in the area to make sure that they were okay! Now that that's done, I can say oh, god, thank god, you're okay!

[anaxila.livejournal.com]

Good to hear from you. I have been glued to MSNBC. My family and friends are accounted for so far. Hope yours are well too. I just... there are no words. It was on my commute for years; I lived right there. WCCO has a raw stream, but that's all I was able to get online until MSNBC came on live via cable.

[viedma.livejournal.com]

God almighty indeed. Vali and I are relieved to know you're all right.

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

I am so glad that you are okay.

My thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and the grieving - and also with you, with much love.

[heresluck]

I just saw the news on cnn.com and immediately thought of you three, and quick hit LJ to see if any of you had posted. I am SO GLAD you're all okay. And -- god, that's freaky.

[katallison.livejournal.com]

I *finally* have my TV working again, so I can see what's going on (it was a terrible temptation to just bike down there, but they're telling people to stay the hell away, so...).

I can't stop thinking about everyone I know at the U who commutes over that bridge, though, and wondering if any of them were on it at that moment. And thinking about how I was driving over that bridge Monday evening. (*shivering*)

[kestrelsan.livejournal.com]

Oh god, Kat, I'm glad you're okay. What a horrible thing to have happened. We put so much faith in these man-made things that it's a complete shock to hear about something like this. I hope the news that comes out is as best as it can be.

[popfantastic.livejournal.com]

Horrible -- I pray that the casualty counts stay low. Selfishly, I'm glad that I heard this from my flist first and saw your post without having to wait for the check-in.

[kickair8p.livejournal.com]

Yikes! Glad you guys are okay, but.....yikes!





~

[giglet.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you are safe. I hope your family and friends are safe as well.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Holy shit. I'm so very glad you're okay, and I hope everyone is, although looking at the pictures, it seems unlikely.

(How does a bridge just collapse like that?)

Wow.

[anoel.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad you're okay and I hope all your friends are as well. That must be so surreal for such a horrible thing to happen right near you. My thoughts are with you and everyone in the city.

[panisdead.livejournal.com]

How incredibly frightening. I'm glad you're okay, and hope for all the people you know (and don't).

[movies-michelle.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you're okay. I can only imagine the shock you have to be feeling. And, yeah, as it's getting dark and a storm's coming in, this is not going to be a good night.

I suppose it's at least good that it's summer and warm so there's no chance of anyone freezing to death out there. Thank heaven for small mercies.

[farwing.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Glad you are okay.

delurking briefly

[kudra2324.livejournal.com]

i'm really glad you're ok.

some people are checking in over at mnstf.

[copracat]

I don't know what to say about this terrible, terrible accident. I hope yours are as safe and well as can be. My head wouldn't be working at all, in your situation.

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

I had to come make sure you were okay. Very glad to see that you are.

[j-s-cavalcante.livejournal.com]

Glad you are okay. Very scary. Thank God you weren't there at the time.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Jesus.

My thoughts are with you and all the folks in your town. What a nightmare.

[elke-tanzer.livejournal.com]

Glad you're OK!

[buddleia.livejournal.com]

Jesus Christ. It's horrible when it's so close. I just saw this on the BBC website and it looks terrible.

[planetalyx.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you weren't there, and I hope you haven't lost anyone near or dear. I know it's gonna be hard to deal with either way, and you're in my thoughts, Kat.

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

I'm just catching up on what happened last night. I've yet to hear that anyone I know was more than worried and inconvenienced, thank goodness.

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting -- I dearly hope your U of MN coworkers are all safe and sound.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Thank you for checking in! I hope your friends and coworkers are okay.