Part of Route 30 collapses in East Pittsburgh: Buildings damaged, evacuations ordered

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Updated

A section of route 30 has collapsed and damaged an apartment building in East Pittsburgh following recent rain.

Officials say the landslide forced PennDot to close Route 30 in east Pittsburgh along Electric Avenue, 9 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, on Friday afternoon.

Other nearby apartment buildings have been evacuated as of Saturday morning.

AccuWeather Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said Pittsburgh's international airport has measured 1.80 inches of rain and melted snow the first six days of April.

"Typically, it takes about half of the month for the airport to receive that amount. April 3 was the wettest day with 1.20 inches of rain," Pydynowski said.

Looking back further, it's been a wet start to the year in Pittsburgh.

"Nearly double the normal precipitation has fallen," Pydynowski said.

It could be a while until the repairs are complete. PennDOT spokeswoman Cheryl Moon-Sirianni said crews need to investigate more.

"As far as timeframe for repair, that is definitely unknown at this point," Moon-Sirianni said. "Obviously, it's not going to be a few days. We're probably looking at a month, or two months, or maybe even longer depending on what the solution may be."

No residents or crews responding to the collapse were injured.