As I’ve had the displeasure of finding out on a number of occasions, and as I’m sure many of you have too, dodging chunks of ice falling from buildings is one of the most terrifyingly dangerous things you can be faced with as a city dweller in a temperate climate that caters for snow.
However, in my case, only about watermelon sized chunks fell close by (and still made an alarming thud then cracking sound…), whereas the videos we’ve posted below, show inescapable situations (for a person) and ones that involve bigger ice chunks falling, resulting in concave roofs and hoods, as well broken glass; the one from China is actually borderline-disturbing.
It’s a permanent problem, and that’s why it’s always wise to look up when walking in the winter, especially when you’re surrounded by older buildings with roofs that protrude outward and leave a place for the ice blocks to form, become too heavy and fall. Some new buildings are built to prevent it gathering up, but don’t rely on it to always work as designed.
Check out the videos below to get your paranoia wheels turning: two are from Texas and are pretty severe, though the one previously mentioned from China shows a moving Range Rover (?) being hit by what looks like a motorbike-sized chunk from above.