Two large construction cranes in Miami buckled under Hurricane Irma’s gale-force winds Sunday and precariously dangled in the city skyline, officials said.
A roughly 300-foot vertical tower remained intact at Northeast 3rd Street near Biscayne Boulevard, but its horizontal jib was shorn off by heavy winds, according to Local 10 News.
Another crane was torn apart in similar fashion at a building site on Northeast 30th Terrace, according to WTVJ.
Officials have warned people living near construction sites to be aware of the crane dangers. There were no injuries immediately reported at either site.
The city issued a statement last week explaining that about 25 cranes still standing ahead of the storm could withstand winds up to 145 mph. The arms had to remain loose, otherwise the cranes pose a greater risk of falling, officials said.
Other cranes whirled in circles Saturday as Irma whipped them about.
“The cranes are moving oh —-, oh holy shit are you serious?,” one person can be heard saying on a video obtained by CNN. “And it’s not even Irma yet and the crane is moving.”
The storm made landfall over the Florida Keys on Sunday with winds reaching 130 mph and was expected to pass over the state’s west coast while raking the rest of Florida with its outer bands.