A water main break on one of the Whiteville, N.C.'s main lines prompted a city-wide boil water notice and cancellation of surgeries at Columbus Regional Healthcare, according to an article on the Fay Observer website.
A contractor bored through a 12-inch water main. The resulting deluge washed away the road and roadbed.
Fire Department tanker trucks were brought in to Columbus Regional Healthcare to supply chillers for the hospital's air-conditioning units, the hospital's Emergency Management director, Jeremy Jernigan, said.
Hospital chillers use up to 500 gallons of water per hour, Jernigan said. The city system could not keep up with that demand.
"I don't know how long this will last," Jernigan said. "I hope it's resolved in the next two minutes."