![]() "When the attraction between these charges is strong enough, the air becomes ionised and breaks down to create a path for the current to flow and that's when we see lightning." "The negative charges at the cloud's base then attract positive charges that accumulate on the ground's high points such as hills, tall buildings and trees. As a result, clouds becomes positively charged on top and negatively charged at the bottom," explains Phung. "In a thunderstorm, wind turbulence in clouds causes ice crystals and water droplets to collide. "But these surges produce nowhere near the same amount of voltage and current as that caused by lightning, a giant discharge of electricity produced during a thunderstorm," says Dr Toan Phung, a senior lecturer at the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, University of New South Wales. It can be caused by faulty wiring, downed power lines or the sudden and heavy use of high power electrical devices such as air conditioners during a heat wave, which can upset the steady supply voltage from the electricity network. “It really gives you an appreciation of what our folks were doing during the worst part of the storm.A power surge is an abrupt, large increase in voltage or current in the power supply that typically lasts a fraction of a second. “It was a mess to say the least,” said Hatt, who saw the destruction for the first time this morning. They have not yet determined how much the damage will cost to fix. “I was just … sad that we’re having to spend this much money now.”Ĭity crews are still working on repairs and assessing the damage, said city spokesman Trey Hatt. “The way it would expand is out the back, so that wall would have been knocked down soon if the bond passes, but it still has to be repaired now, so we’re spending money now that probably won’t be in something that’s long-term,” a hopeful Insley said. The damage comes just weeks before early voting begins for the May 6 election, in which voters will decide whether to back a $14.5 million proposition to expand the San Marcos library. When they first noticed leaking, she said they quickly moved books to dry areas and covered stacks in plastic sheeting. The rest of the library remains open, she said.īooks survived because of a quick reaction by staff, Insley said. ![]() Insley said staff will decide over the weekend whether to hold future classes. Water also soaked insulation and sent ceiling tiles falling.ĭue to the damage, the library has closed the classrooms and canceled General Education Development, English as a Second Language and computer classes that take place there for the week. Twenty-five are still available for public use. “It all the sudden came out like a waterfall,” Insley said of the leakage that she said lasted about 20 minutes and was likely exacerbated by heavy wind.įourteen public computer stations in classrooms and four staff work stations were damaged, Insley said. While the main part of the building survived the downpour, library director Diane Insley said it appears that more water accumulated on the roof than drains could handle on the back part of the library, causing it to pour through the ceiling and into the building. The prospect of these emergency repairs comes less than a month from the bond election to expand the San Marcos library. The storms Tuesday tore through parts of the ceiling of the San Marcos Public Library and destroyed more than a dozen computers, said officials who are still taking stock of the damage.
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