Students evacuated after transformer explosion in Birmingham

About a hundred students were at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Mervyn H. Sterne Library, which is adjacent to the southside substation run by Alabama Power.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (WIAT 42 Birmingham) August 20, 2010 -- A transformer exploded about 8 p.m. August 19 at the southside substation run by Alabama Power in Birmingham.

About a hundred students were at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's (UAB) Mervyn H. Sterne Library, which is adjacent to the substation, at the time of the explosion.

The library, along with a few other adjacent buildings, was evacuated. And authorities worked to close off the street to regular traffic.

The substation sits off 13th Street South, between University Boulevard and 11th Avenue South.

The explosion caused outages along 13th, and also at a handful of traffic lights at nearby intersections.

Link: http://www.cbs42.com/mostpopular/story/Update-Explosion-Rocks-UAB-Campus/kz7hU2QsMUGaLj8PGR9k1Q.cspx

Source: DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report