FL- 12 Story Condo Partial Building Collapse, many still unaccounted for, Miami, 24 June 2021

[dixiegirl1035]

They say 145 are still missing. So that probably means about 86 (or so) unnamed and much loved people lived in those beige coloured (in the diagram) apartments.

(61 named as missing in the orange coloured units in the diagram .... with I think two more since being found.)

Floor by Floor, the Missing People and Lost Lives Near Miami


President Biden is traveling Thursday to visit Surfside, Fla., where a condominium collapsed one week ago — a disaster that has left at least 18 residents dead and 145 still missing.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/07/01/florida-condo-building-collapse-live-updates/

From link



Here are some significant developments:

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology will open a full investigation of the Surfside collapse. The NIST previously established teams to probe the collapse of the twin towers in New York in the 9/11 attacks and a tornado in Joplin, Mo., in 2011.
• The Miami-Dade Police Department released the names of five victims on Wednesday: Hilda Noriega, 92; Anaely Rodriguez, 42; Andreas Giannitsopoulos, 21, and sisters Lucia and Emma Guara, 10 and 4, respectively.
• The majority of the board of the Florida condo resigned in 2019 as squabbling residents dragged out plans for repairs.
• Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said Wednesday there are no plans yet to shift to a recovery operation: “Frankly, I don’t think it’s ever going to be a recovery operation,” he said.

 

[Dontknow?]

Andrew Scheinthal
@AScheinthalWSVN

BREAKING: 7 News sources say the search efforts have stopped due to stability concerns over the remainder of the building still standing. Not clear when search and rescue efforts will resume. Waiting for an update from county leaders. #Surfside

 

[dixiegirl1035]

6 Things to Know: Push for Changes Amplified After Surfside Building Collapse

No. 6 - A cat by the name of Coco remains trapped in one of the apartments of the Champlain Towers South. The small cat was trapped after his 89-year-old owner and her daughter were fortunately rescued from her apartment on the corner of the fourth floor of the south tower. Fire rescue crews cannot enter at this moment to look for Coco due to the unstable conditions of the surrounding debris, but for now have used a cherry picker to leave food and water on the balcony for the kitten.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252497083.html

Structural concerns halt search a week after condo collapse
7:40 a.m: Exactly one week after the Champlain Towers South building collapsed, rescue crews early Thursday stopped work amid concerns that the remaining structure could topple. Also, South Florida is bracing for the possible arrival of a tropical storm later in the week that could affect the site.

 

[mickey2942]

I would hazard a guess that at this point in time the "Search and Rescue" is going to have to have a termination point, soon. There are significant factors in Miami: heat/weather, insect infestation, and also ongoing structural problems that it won't be safe for rescue workers.

 

[SuziQ]

I wonder how many residents actually heard the deck collapse and how many thought much of it. A witness/resident in the lobby said it was a booming sound.

Next door hotel guests, who were outside, heard a loud crash which prompted them to go investigate and that's how they filmed the concrete rubble through the garage entrance. The article below states that the residents rushed to the balconies due to the same sound, but we don't see anyone on the balcony in the video.

Fallen debris and gushing water was seen in the Surfside condo garage moments before collapse - CNN

The light is on though. I was actually wondering if that apartment belonged to the lady and her two kids. They were talking to the security guard

 

[SuziQ]

I am "waiting" for this information as well...
In the floor maps identifying the missing people, there are so many units with no identification (units color coded beige).
Were they all empty?
They even color coded the units where people were away (the pale green)

So my question is.... In "condo living 101", is this the norm in an ocean front building.... to have so many unoccupied??

I would imagine many snowbirds had already headed up north.

 

[bears10]

This is a document from the town of Surfside regarding the repairs needed. Certainly doesn't sound like anything urgent: https://www.townofsurfsidefl.gov/do...ral-field-survey-report.pdf?sfvrsn=aa311194_2

Is this sarcasm? The report literally says that the waterproofing is beyond it's useful life and must be replaced, and that "Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially". It then goes on to state the major errors in the original architectural plans.

 

[Dontknow?]

David Ovalle
@DavidOvalle305
2m

THREAD: First civil court hearing in Surfside collapse, Judge Hanzman presses condo association lawyer on whether board still exists to make decisions, given members may have died or be missing.

 

[GatorFL]

Is this sarcasm? The report literally says that the waterproofing is beyond it's useful life and must be replaced, and that "Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially"

Of course not. Where was the city? Point is if things were that bad the building should have been condemned. It wasn't. There was zero sense of urgency from the owners, the HOA or the city.

 

[margarita25]

According to Anderson’s podcast last night, a lady said her sister called her husband at 1:30am, said the pool was being sucked under, iirc she used the metaphor “sinkhole”, that the building was shaking, then she screamed and the line went dead.

‎Anderson Cooper 360: Death toll rises to 18 in condo collapse on Apple Podcasts

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Tropical Storm Elsa to move through Caribbean
Appears on visual worst will be Monday night in the area - Doesn't bode well for rescue efforts as they have already shut down this am due to concerns of failure of the part still standing. (my guess?? they have sensors attached to buildings in this type of situation??)

 

[indicolite22]

They say 145 are still missing. So that probably means about 86 (or so) unnamed and much loved people lived in those beige coloured (in the diagram) apartments.

SBM. Quite a few more names of the missing have been revealed in MSM sources, with and without the floor/apartment # info.

 

[indicolite22]

Right. But the effort put into all the diagrams and identification, I felt they should have, at least, made a reference to the units with no identification... you know like.... "no data available on units color coded in beige"....

They did. The legend states "status of residents unknown".

 

[indicolite22]

It's a real wake up call, sadly.

It's made me wonder in the cacophony of all the various parts that lead to this tragedy, was the Condo Association already behind the 8 ball, so to speak.
I'm looking for the breakdown percentage of full-time residents of CTS, seasonal residents, and portfolio/investment properties. Because, it may have been an additional impediment to taking the quick and necessary actions like Dolphin Towers took. Just speculation on my part, of course.

A list of condo owners was made public a while ago: https://bocanewsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Champlain-Towers.pdf

 

[moonriverfarm]

6 Things to Know: Push for Changes Amplified After Surfside Building Collapse

No. 6 - A cat by the name of Coco remains trapped in one of the apartments of the Champlain Towers South. The small cat was trapped after his 89-year-old owner and her daughter were fortunately rescued from her apartment on the corner of the fourth floor of the south tower. Fire rescue crews cannot enter at this moment to look for Coco due to the unstable conditions of the surrounding debris, but for now have used a cherry picker to leave food and water on the balcony for the kitten.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252497083.html

Structural concerns halt search a week after condo collapse
7:40 a.m: Exactly one week after the Champlain Towers South building collapsed, rescue crews early Thursday stopped work amid concerns that the remaining structure could topple. Also, South Florida is bracing for the possible arrival of a tropical storm later in the week that could affect the site.

Do they know the cat survived?

 

[Dontknow?]

Surfside building collapse latest: Rescuers hear cracks in remaining structure

One area of the site had to be roped off on Tuesday due to falling debris. On Wednesday, officials said crews were no longer entering the remaining structure because it's considered unstable. Then rescuers reported hearing cracks early Thursday and had to investigate whether the rest of the building would collapse, officials told ABC News.

Surfside building collapse latest: Rescuers hear cracks in remaining structure

 

[nhmemorymaker]

They did. The legend states "status of residents unknown".

THANKS.... I had looked for it before...kept looking for it as scrolling, and there it is as clear as day at the top....
Geeez.

 

[bears10]

Of course not. Where was the city? Point is if things were that bad the building should have been condemned. It wasn't. There was zero sense of urgency from the owners, the HOA or the city.

Were these reports shared with the owners? I certainly think the the city and the HOA majorly screwed up by not taking action, but I'm not ready to place blame on the owners until I know what information and details were shared with them. I also think the engineering firm(s) should have placed more emphasis on the urgency of the repairs.

 

[sds71]

In the years leading up to the collapse of a residential condo building in Surfside, the town’s Building Department was plagued by disorganization and lack of communication — so much so that former town manager Guillermo Olmedillo placed the department under administrative review, according to a January 2019 memorandum obtained by the Miami Herald…


Olmedillo, a former director of planning and zoning for Miami-Dade County, said he advocated for the town to outsource its entire building department to the county.

Almost all of Surfside’s permit and inspection records were on paper, meaning the process was slow and lacked transparency, he said. And without records readily accessible, it was easier for residents to lodge complaints and accuse building officials of cutting corners.
The county’s records, on the other hand, were entirely online.

“Building departments are always the focus of possible problems,” Olmedillo said. “The best way to dispel that is to have an open window. No hanky-panky is possible.”

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/lo...ami-beach/article252462733.html#storylink=cpy

 

[adelynschmidt]

My heart is so heavy this morning, thinking of all of the families who have lost loved ones or are still missing. Anyone know of any way we can help the rescuers & the families affected? I can't imagine how hard it's been on those helping in rescue efforts. So thankful for people like them who are willing to risk their own lives in order to help rescue others after such an awful tragedy.