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

[Treacletoo]

How terrible. How awful must it have been to be in the second part that fell. The first part was hopefully quick but the second teetered for a while.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

What a terrible tragedy.
Is there any news of more people being found ?

I did see the one about the boy being pulled out.

On the news here this morning it was up among the top stories.
It was said there might be at least one Australian unaccounted for.

I read that there were no air pockets but I'd like to think there are and they will find more people.

What a horrifying ordeal.

 

[mickey2942]

Actually, out of date buildings are routinely demolished and rebuilt in Florida, especially beachfront property.

Unfortunately, not this one. I also wonder if the ongoing construction around the building didn't cause issues. The problem with Condos, is that if this had been identified, would the association have put a huge assessment for repairs? Or should these repairs have been ongoing, and whoever runs the condos has been pocketing the money for years, not spending it on the routine maintenance?

The insurance claims should be interesting.

 

[coffeeandacig]

Actually, out of date buildings are routinely demolished and rebuilt in Florida, especially beachfront property.

Absolutely agree. Cheaper to knock down and rebuild in a lot of cases. Although, we had one in Sarasota on the bay front, that had an emergency evacuation of the residents when cracks were found. They decided to fix it, rather than pull it down.

 

[fred&edna]

A New York lawyer who recently moved to Florida is among the missing in Thursday’s devastating condo building collapse in South Florida.

Linda March, 58 — who specializes in representing building owners, contractors and developers who run afoul of city codes and regulations — was still missing Thursday evening, hours after the 1:30 a.m. collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside, Fla., said local media and her ex-husband.

“Nobody knows anything for sure,” said ex-husband David Cohen. “Apparently, she did live on the side of the building that had collapsed. For all I know she could be among the people that survived ... but I don’t know the names of those people.”



‘We’re all hoping she’s OK’: NYC lawyer who moved to Florida in March missing in condo building collapse

 

[Dontknow?]

If you search the address on Zillow or 1st Sotheby's youtube some of the for sale condos will show up. The ones I saw were just luxurious and large. They sell for $600K to $700K. But that's the interior of units not the structure, unfortunately.

 

[dotr]

Live Updates: Rescuers Hear Banging Sounds in Rubble of Collapsed Condo Near Miami
''The affected area is predominantly Jewish, and rabbis and chaplains are in the area to assist, Levine Cava said.
Levine Cava said the hotline has been set up for people trying to get information about their loved ones who may have been in the building: 305-614-1819.
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency declaration to allow state resources for the disaster response.''

Witness finds boy and gets rescuers to him
Witness Nicholas Balboa told CNN he saw a boy's wiggling fingers sticking out of the debris shortly after the collapse -- a discovery that led to the child's rescue.
Balboa, who lives nearby, said he was walking his dog around 1:30 or 1:40 a.m. when he felt the ground shake and saw plumes of dust and debris. He and another man went to the back of the building. Just as he was doubting anyone could survive the collapse, he heard someone screaming, he said.''

"Finally, I got close enough to hear him, and (the trapped boy) said, 'Can you see my hand?'" Balboa told CNN's "New Day."
"He was sticking his hand up ... through the debris. And I could see his hand and his fingers wiggling."
Balboa and the other man got a police officer to come over, and other rescuers eventually arrived, Balboa said.
The boy, who was under a mattress and bed frame when he was found, was pulled out, he said.''

 

[SuziQ]

Son recounts mom's concerns night before building collapse - CNN Video

 

[JaxFlaGal]

Photo-timeline from the Miami Herald w/interviews from survivors. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article252337838.html

 

[TexLil]

Relatives of Paraguay’s first lady are among the dozens of people missing after a beachfront condo building partially collapsed Thursday outside Miami.

Relatives of Paraguay's first lady missing in Miami collapse

 

[crhedBngr]

Prayers for All Families and Friends.

Miracles do happen; let's hope some Survivors are found soon.

 

[TexLil]

In the attached file...
The top image is before the tragedy.
The bottom image is a depiction (red) of the part of the building that was decimated by the collapse.

 

[GatorFL]

Unfortunately, not this one. I also wonder if the ongoing construction around the building didn't cause issues. The problem with Condos, is that if this had been identified, would the association have put a huge assessment for repairs? Or should these repairs have been ongoing, and whoever runs the condos has been pocketing the money for years, not spending it on the routine maintenance?

The insurance claims should be interesting.

After the Great Recession I learned through some friends/customers to avoid condos. A couple of them lived a bit north of this building, in new buildings. One of those was occupied by less than 10 residents. I was told the homeowners insurance alone was like $40,000 for each resident. Condo market was a mess for a long time in Broward and especially Miami Dade, lots of foreigners bought there and it straightened out. Each condo is typically its own business entity and yes some associations have done some bad stuff.

What is interesting is the chasm said to be found underneath the building. These building typically have pylons driven deep into the ground to act as a footer for the structure. If there were issues underneath then it is easy to understand the dynamics of the collapse. I wonder if the recertification would note something like that without cracks in the main structure?

I agree the insurance claims will also be interesting. There will be many long court battles. From what I know, the association should own the policy on the building and grounds and the residents should each have a policy on the contents of their units.

 

[indicolite22]

Son recounts mom's concerns night before building collapse - CNN Video

He says that his mother, who was a resident in the part that collapsed, woke up to creaking noises at 3AM the night before the collapse.

 

[branmuffin]

Unfortunately, not this one. I also wonder if the ongoing construction around the building didn't cause issues. The problem with Condos, is that if this had been identified, would the association have put a huge assessment for repairs? Or should these repairs have been ongoing, and whoever runs the condos has been pocketing the money for years, not spending it on the routine maintenance?

The insurance claims should be interesting.

I'm not a Florida native but we do have property in Florida on the Gulf side in St. Pete. Our building was built in 1973 so I am presuming its already had its 40 year inspection.

Our building and the one next to it was built on land. There are signs posted around that show how much we would be underwater during a Category 1 hurricane. We'd be okay until a Category 2 when we would be under 9 feet of water since our building is a whopping 13 feet above sea level.

There are progressive buildings that have been built from the mid 70's to the late 80's on landfill islands so everyone has a water view.

The last building to be built is the most expensive since it has the beautiful view of the Don Cesar. It's the only one that has a car park underneath so no condo units are on the ground floor. It's also the only one that is sinking. That doesn't seem to matter to potential buyers. It's all about the view.

When we were looking for a place is when I found out about Florida sinkholes. How Florida is a honeycomb of lime carbonate where water constantly flows underneath. Well, I've seen the way wind can erode the beautiful sandstone monuments in Arizona so I have no problem visualizing what water could do to such porous rock formations. The year we started looking was when that poor man was lost forever when his home sunk trapping him. Two years later it did it again.

I don't think we can eliminate any possibilities regarding why this building collapsed.

 

[indicolite22]

Security video shows Florida condo being pelted with debris before collapse

Luckily the condo owner wasn't home at the time.

 

[branmuffin]

Security video shows Florida condo being pelted with debris before collapse

Luckily the condo owner wasn't home at the time.

Is that water? It looks like water to me, and debris.

 

[indicolite22]

Witnesses watched the 12-story building fall in a matter of seconds.

From a resident of a neighboring building (BBM):

“I saw half of the Champlain Towers South building collapse like a sandwich,” said Ms. Terenzi, 59, who has lived in the East Tower since 2000. “It was a really shocking sight.” Ms Terenzi said she had seen heavy equipment on the roof of the South Tower for the past two weeks.

 

[SouthAussie]

<RSBM>
It was said there might be at least one Australian unaccounted for.

They are now saying that it is an Aussie couple who may be missing in the ruins. They just had - a few hours before the collapse - another grandchild.


An Australian couple are feared missing in the devastating Miami building collapse that has already claimed at least one life.
“We have friends who live in that building from Australia and they are unable to be communicated with.”

He later said his missing friends were a couple aged in their 70s or 80s who were originally from Sydney. They spend part of every year in Florida.
“It is devastating … They both became grandparents yet again a few hours before the tragedy.”

Mr Waks also said that family members have been asked to give DNA, but have been given little information about survivors.
Miami building collapse: Concerns for missing Australians

 

[SouthAussie]

Included in the missing are 22 South Americans – nine from Argentina, six from Paraguay, four from Venezuela and three from Uruguay, according to officials in those countries.

Miami building collapse: Concerns for missing Australians