Polar Vortex Freezes and Bursts Pipes at Three Hospitals
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Pixland/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The extreme cold weather has caused pipes to burst in at least three hospitals around the nation Tuesday, prompting the relocation of dozens of patients due to flooding in their rooms.
A pipe burst at 6 a.m. at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, prompting the hospital to divert patients from its emergency room and relocate about 30 patients, according to WCVB, ABC’s affiliate in Boston. Its emergency room started accepting patients again Tuesday afternoon.
Flooding at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., on the fourth and sixth floors prompted staff members to relocate 23 patients at 11:30 a.m., according to a hospital statement. The hospital remains open and is running normally.
And St. Vincent Charity Hospital in Cleveland also had a water pipe burst Tuesday, prompting a temporary emergency services diversion, according to its Twitter account. The hospital had to temporarily shut off its water, but the pipe has been fixed and the hospital has returned to normal.
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