Was Indiana Fair Stage Collapse with 5 Dead, Dozens Hurt, Preventable?

It was a clear and sunny day when suddenly a storm front came through the Indiana State Fair Grounds on Saturday. Thousands of concert goers were just minutes away from watching the group Sugarland take to the stage. Just minutes after an announcement warning of the possibility of severe weather that was in the area, a cloud of dust, high winds and rain came blowing into the crowd. The winds toppled the light and stage rigging above stage and it fell onto the crowd of people near the stage. The ensuing chaos left 5 concert-goers dead and dozens injured including many very seriously with traumatic brain injuries, neck injuries, and broken bones, according to eyewitness accounts.

http://news.yahoo.com/stage-collapse-kills-4-ahead-sugarland-concert-075121218.html?ugccmtnav=v1%2Fcomments%2Fcontext%2F3d580865-af0c-30dd-9530-a28ddd5eb232%2Fcomments%3Fcount%3D20%26sortBy%3DhighestRated%26isNext%3Dtrue%26offset%3D80%26pageNumber%3D4

Many questions about the tragedy are rushing in to authorities of the State Fair. Was there adequate notice of the impending storm? Was the notice received and acted on? Was the stage structure adequately constructed? Was this horrible event preventable?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/indiana-stage-collapse-was-it-preventable/2011/08/15/gIQAvXa9GJ_blog.html

The result of the impending investigations for answers to these and other questions will shed light into the fatal event of Saturday at the Indiana State Fair. It will also provide a guide to future outdoor concert organizers regarding accurate specific to locale weather alerts, early and accurate dissemination of those warnings and structure standards for temporary use structures. We believe that the tragedy could have been avoided with proper weather information and warning to the concert-goers and adherence to stricter standards for temporary structures. Senseless deaths and traumatic brain injuries could have been avoided with better communication from the Fair officials.