ND Snow Caused Building Collapse

Mountains of snow are creating a lot of problems for people in Northern North 
Dakota.  Record snow fall has been piling on roofs and in some cases collapsing them.
Dan Erdmann reports from one farm that was hit hard by the heavy snow.

 For many residents, the added stress of winter is beginning to take its toll, but for many buildings, the stress from snow has become too much to handle.

"I got up, I come out here to check things out and I noticed  that the building roof was gone," said farmer Kim Haga.

 Haga owns and operates this  farm near Karlsruhe, North Dakota, and this fallen structure houses several  pieces of his equipment.

"We've got some tractors, we've got farm trucks, we've got a  payloader, which I've got parked in there so I could get it started now that  covered and I could sure use it out here with all this snow," said Kim Haga

Over 6 feet of snow to be exact.  And with all that added strain on buildings throughout the area, it's no surprise that Haga's problem is not unique to just his farm yard.

Kim Haga said, "Two days earlier, I'd been down to my neighbor's, plowed a road in for him because his roof went down.  Our other neighbor right to the south a half-mile here, a quanset went down the same day as my other neighbor. So, it's like three buildings here in about two days."

With so much wreckage to sift through, Haga says it's hard to tell just how extensive the damage really is.  Luckily, his building's insurance does cover snow damages, but he says it's a good idea for everyone to check what that coverage includes.

"I talked with my agent and he said a lot of companies have a thirty-day grace period if it's not on there on these out buildings, so you better get shoveling," said Haga.

Because this problem, could easily become anyone's  problem.