There was an explosion and what now appears to be a major steam pipe burst that is causing an ongoing release of steam and smoke. It occurred at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, and the immediate vicinity has been evacuated. A water main may have also been severed with geysers of water spewing into the air along with mud.
I'm going to go out on a limb and note that prior steam explosions of this nature have resulted in asbestos contamination, and it is possible that we might encounter a similar situation.
There are unconfirmed reports of injuries, and there are two wrecked vehicles right where the street has buckled and the steam is pouring out. Additional fire and emergency units have been pouring into the area.
UPDATE:
WCBS880 has a live news feed.
Gothamist is also keeping tabs on the situation.
As for the possibility of an asbestos release due to a steam explosion, a similar incident occurred in 1989. That incident killed three people, wounded 24, and caused widespread damage and contamination from asbestos. Thus far, today's incident does not appear to have caused serious casualties. I hope that proves to be the case.
UPDATE:
4, 5, and 6 trains are bypassing Grand Central Station and traffic disruptions through the area are significant.
Many buildings in Manhattan are served by steam pipes to provide heating and cooling, so that explains why there are even steam pipes. If you've ever walked through the City as a tourist and wondered why there are pipes channeling steam into the sky, that's the reason. It is quite possible that a leak in the pipe, combined with heavy rains, could have caused a flash explosion - the liquid water instantly vaporizing and expanding at a tremendous rate causing an explosion.
UPDATE:
Con Ed has a page dedicated to the steam services it provides. From their FAQ:
The Con Edison Steam Operations is ready to offer you rates competitive with those of alternative sources of energy. Contact us to ask about a negotiated agreement to keep your energy costs down.
We also have an air-conditioning program available for large steam customers. The company already supplies 700,000 tons of steam air conditioning (A/C) load. We offer a reduction of $2.00 per thousand pounds from our summer rate for usage in excess of the first 50,000 pounds of steam for residential customers and the first 250,000 pounds of steam for commercial customers. The city and your business receive an added benefit because our existing steam air conditioning customers reduce the summer electric peak load by approximately 400 megawatts.
Reliable
Con Edison's Steam Operations is committed to providing highly reliable steam service. With an installed capacity of about 13 million pounds per hour, Con Edison maintains the steam production capability to meet forecasted heating and cooling peak loads, plus reserve to cover equipment outages. Our capacity comprises three steam-electric stations, four steam-only stations, and capacity supplied under a long-term contract with the Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Partners.
UPDATE:
Trains in Grand Central itself are running, but getting to Grand Central is going to be tough. Authorities are letting people into Grand Central through the North End Access (Madison and 47th) but other entrances are closed.
UPDATE:
The NYT is covering the incident here.
UPDATE:
Photos of the incident as they're coming in via Flickr.
UPDATE:
Con Ed can't cut the steam off all at once, because that could risk additional explosions elsewhere in the system. So, they've got to slowly cut off the affected area. It will take some time before the incident is under control.
UPDATE:
Curbed is also running updates.
UPDATE:
ABC News is reporting only six injuries in the incident. Considering the circumstances, we're real lucky.
UPDATE:
Other reports are now indicating about 12 injured, but none life threatening. Air quality is now being stressed as a concern - emergency personnel are telling people to stay away from the vicinity. NY Nana at LGF reports that asbestos is a concern, which is just as I had initially suspected.
UPDATE:
The steam has slackened off considerably, and you can now see through the affected area. Many people in the area, including Con Ed and other emergency personnel are not wearing respirators or other breathing apparatus, so if there is a concern about air quality, it's still up in the air literally.
Bill Ritter on ABC is continuing to talk about the structural integrity of nearby buildings. I suspect that the Transportation Department will need to completely rebuild the affected area and utilities will be disrupted.
A vehicle appears to be in the crater, which itself is at least 2-3 lanes wide and just as long.
That video is via Gothamist.
ABC is telling people that if you were in the vicinity of the explosion, you should throw out your clothes and shower.
UPDATE:
People who live in the immediate vicinity of the explosion will probably be out of their homes for the near future - both out of the immediate concern of structural damage to those buildings, and because of possible contamination by asbestos. Also, I checked in with Legalbgl who noted that from his vantage on the East Side that it instantly reminded him of 9/11, and Ground Zero after the attacks. He's not the only person to make that kind of remark - as many of the news reports are commenting on the increased scrutiny over the air quality that comes as a direct result of what happened on 9/11 and the resulting cleanup and recovery operations.
UPDATE:
More video footage here. Con Ed is on the scene, and it also looks like they're starting to evaluate the situation. Con Ed hasn't found any problems with the electrical system right now, and testing is underway for asbestos - that will take a few hours for a definitive answer. Crews are taking no chances and the Con Ed spokesperson is saying that their workers are wearing protective gear as a precaution and people should not be in the area until the test results come back.
No word as yet as to the source of the explosion. They'll be checking nearby equipment for collateral damage as well. There is no electrical outage at this time.
UPDATE:
Bloomberg presser underway at 8:21 EDT. He says that at 5:57 that an explosion was reported at 41st and Lex. No reason to believe anything other than it was an infrastructure failure - no terrorism or criminality. A 24-inch steam pipe, installed in 1924, failed. Most likely cause of failure - cold water getting into the pipe.
The presser has been interrupted by sirens in the background.
UPDATE:
Presser back underway, as he repeats prior information, 1 person died of cardiac arrest at Bellvue Hospital, and about 20 people injured. Verizon has lost some phone service. No word on when street closures will be lifted.
The City will assume that there was an asbestos release. The cleanup will depend on what the tests find. There will be a frozen zone centered on the incident location, which will be adjusted as necessary. Tests will continue and the City does not know what is actually in the air.
UPDATE:
Ed Driscoll also weighs in with coverage and notes the creaky infrastructure in the City.
UPDATE:
NBC News is reporting that if you were in the vicinity of the explosion, you should wash yourself thoroughly and place your clothes in a plastic bag for later testing if the City's tests reveal that asbestos was emitted in the course of the incident.
UPDATE:
Dan Riehl makes an interesting observation. There are more people taking photos and video of the incident than actual journalists covering the situation. Some of those folks have already uploaded their photos as noted by the Flickr link above.
UPDATE:
The NYT notes that those buried steam pipes are a hidden hazard. We get that reminder every decade or so when one of these pipes explodes into our consciousness. Some utilities buried underground in some parts of Manhattan are not even mapped, and since 9/11 there has been an effort to map out where utilities are in Manhattan because of the need to install new systems - fiber optic links for telcom and upgraded services. Knowing where things are buried is crucial to avoid nasty surprises.
Business Week has more.
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