Eleven people were confirmed dead, and another 150 people were missing in the collapse of the Miami building.
EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images
- On the sixth day of the search and rescue, hopes of finding 150 missing persons amidst the rubble of a collapsed building in Florida were dwindling.
- The official death toll is 11, and no bodies have been found since Monday.
- The disaster caused officials in nearby areas to scramble to check the safety of buildings.
On Tuesday, the Florida beachfront apartment building partially collapsed, and the search and rescue operation continued until the sixth day. Although no survivors have been found since last week, there is little hope for the 150 people still missing.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levin Kava told reporters that no bodies have been found in the rubble since Monday, and the official death toll has remained at 11.
What caused the main part of this 40-year-old high-rise building to collapse into a pile is still under investigation. Initial attention was focused on the structural flaws described in the 2018 Engineer’s Report.
According to media reports, in April 2021, the chairman of the Apartment Association warned residents that the concrete damage and roof damage were “seriously worsening” and urged them to pay about $15 million in repair costs.
Authorities said on Tuesday that when nearly half of the tower collapsed suddenly, survivors might be found among the remaining piles of concrete and twisted metal.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said: “My view as an old naval man is that when someone goes missing in the army, you will go missing until you find it. We will not stop searching. .
Those first responders are going all out, trying to find anyone they can find.
Officials said late Monday that the emergency response team was still treating the round-the-clock operation – using dog teams, cranes and infrared scanners – as a search and rescue operation.
But no one was rescued from the ruins of the Champlain Tannan apartment in Surfside, adjacent to Miami Beach, because one side of the high-rise building collapsed several hours early on Thursday morning while residents were sleeping.
Fire officials said they could detect the faint sound from inside the rubble and found a gap deep in the debris large enough to sustain life.
“It’s not that we saw anyone there, but we haven’t gotten to the bottom yet,” Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Red Jadala told reporters on Monday.
The White House said that President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden will visit Surfside on Thursday.
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters: “They want to thank the brave first responders, the search and rescue team, and everyone who works day and night, and meet the families who have been forced to endure this terrible tragedy.”
The disaster caused officials in nearby areas to scramble to check the safety of buildings.
Mayor Dan Gelber said that Miami Beach, south of Surfside, has ordered a “visual” inspection of about 500 multi-family commercial units next week.
“But at the same time, we will require updated reports for all these buildings in the recertification process in about three weeks,” Gelber told CNN.
This tragedy may eventually be listed as the largest loss of life in the history of the United States due to the accidental collapse of a building.
On Tuesday morning, groups of rescuers stood on the rubble, sifting through the rubble.
Sporadic thunderstorms are expected on Tuesday, which may slow down search efforts.
A temporary memorial a block from the site put bunches of fresh hydrangeas into a barbed wire fence.
A caring poster board conveyed a message to the first responder:
Thank you for finding my grandmother.
report
This 2018 engineer’s report warned of “significant structural damage” to the concrete slab below the pool deck, and concrete damage to the underground parking lot, including exposed steel bars.
The author of the report, Frank Morabito, wrote that if it is not repaired, the deterioration will “expand exponentially”.
“Everything is starting to come together now because, as I have always said, this building has something very, very wrong,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burckett was asked about the letter on Tuesday. When told CNN.
“American buildings will not collapse like this.”
Burkert said the condominium association officials may not have grasped the “seriousness” of the problem.
He says:
Obviously, this is a fatal error.
Donna DiMaggio Berger, a lawyer working with the association, previously stated that the problems outlined in the 2018 report are typical of old buildings in the area.
According to the minutes of the meeting released on Monday, Ross Prieto, then the top construction officer of Surfside, met with residents a few weeks after the report was produced and assured them that the building was in “very good condition.”
Reuters could not reach Prieto, who is no longer employed by Surfside. He told the Miami Herald that he did not remember receiving this report.
