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

[indicolite22]

Video at: https://twitter.com/MiamiDadeFire/status/1408177688515428353

#MDFR #TRT & #FLTF1 are working in the basement parking garage at Champlain Towers. Firefighters continue working on locating possible victims, while dealing with heavy damage and changing conditions in the parking garage. #SurfsideBuildingCollapse

Another video of the garage at: https://twitter.com/JanineWPLG/status/1408202263210905600 (reporter)

Miami Dade’s technical response team accessing the rubble of the #Surfside building collapse from the parking garage…

 

[SouthAussie]

“It’s a tough conversation to have, but the building shouldn’t have been there,” Pilkey said, “along with a lot of other buildings. We’re due for a real awakening.”

One condo owner sued the unit association for failing to fix the cracks in the outside wall of her unit in 2015, according to a lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County.
The condo owner had previously filed a lawsuit against the building association in 2001 due to a similar issue.

Collapsed Miami condo was built on a barrier island, which scientists say presents risks

 

[indicolite22]

Surfside condo that collapsed was going through recertification process

Excerpts (BBM):

A representative for the owner said that as part of the recertification they were going to be doing a concrete restoration project, but that was not yet underway.

“This building has been under a lot of scrutiny lately with the 40-year recertification of the building and with the 88 Park building going up next door to the south,” Surfside Commissioner Charles Kesl told Local 10 News. “There were garage underground issues related to that, to make sure that it was done soundly.

“And, to my understanding, there were some cracks from that project — minor cracks — that were just patched up.”

 

[indicolite22]

This is hardly surprising. There are many dilapidated structures in Florida. And no does anything about them. And this is not unique to Miami. Pick any city in the United States, Chicago, Detroit, Houston...Oakland. Many structures are old, rickety, fire traps or on verge of collapse.

This may just be the beginning. We hear about one or two..."How awful.". People forget, then another one...on and on...

This structure wasn't that old - it was only built in 1981 and it didn't look dilapidated on the outside. Before the oval-shaped luxury condo building was built next door a couple of years ago, there was an old 10-storey hotel (built in 1951) in its place (visible on Google street view). It was demolished in 2015 by the developers, to much protest of the local community.

Residents Livid as Developer Demolishes Historic Hotel After Promises to Renovate

 

[IceIce9]

Rescuers remove body from rubble of partially collapsed building in Surfside



Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 102 people survived and rescue teams were searching for 99 people. She said a huge task force of people will working through the night to help the search-and-rescue teams.

 

[MarziPanda]

The video of the collapse makes me so sad. I can't stop looking at that one room with the light on, on the right, the part that wobbles for a while before collapsing, too. Someone was awake in that room. Going about their life. Reading or watching TV or just visiting the bathroom. And for those few moments before the collapse, they must have been terrified.

It's almost like the building melted or just fell away. I suspect, sadly, the death toll will rise considerably. I feel like this is going to be Florida's Grenfell Tower. That there were plenty of signs that something wasn't right but they were ignored for convenience and profit. And that now, a lot of other similar buildings will need to be inspected.

 

[SouthAussie]

The NY Times is saying there are at least several reasons and/or indicators why the building collapsed.

• Rusted steel and damaged concrete - for which repairs were being planned, extent of corrosion is often not clear until crews start work
  
  
• Improperly protected rebar may rust (being close to the ocean) and lead to concrete spalling
  
  
• Unpermitted remodeling inside a high-rise unit that might result in the elimination of a structural support column. “If you cut a structural column, your building is coming down”
  
  
• Champlain Towers complex had been shaking from tremors during (neighbouring complex) construction that was completed last year
  
  
• Exterior cracking explained in lawsuits that were filed
  
  
• 2020 study found land subsidence in other areas of the region, but the condo complex was the only place on the east side of the barrier island where the issue was detected
  
  
• Deterioration at the point where a horizontal slab of the building meets a vertical support wall, which could lead one of the building’s floors to suddenly fall, bringing the rest of the building with it. There would have been signs of the structural weakening, like a crack in a wall or floor tiles, but residents may have missed or dismissed the signs

Rescuers Hear Banging Sounds in Rubble of Collapsed Condo Near Miami

 

[indicolite22]

The NY Times is saying there are at least several reasons and/or indicators why the building collapsed.

• Rusted steel and damaged concrete - for which repairs were being planned, extent of corrosion is often not clear until crews start work
  
  
• Improperly protected rebar may rust (being close to the ocean) and lead to concrete spalling
  
  
• Unpermitted remodeling inside a high-rise unit that might result in the elimination of a structural support column. “If you cut a structural column, your building is coming down”
  
  
• Champlain Towers complex had been shaking from tremors during (neighbouring complex) construction that was completed last year
  
  
• Exterior cracking explained in lawsuits that were filed
  
  
• 2020 study found land subsidence in other areas of the region, but the condo complex was the only place on the east side of the barrier island where the issue was detected
  
  
• Deterioration at the point where a horizontal slab of the building meets a vertical support wall, which could lead one of the building’s floors to suddenly fall, bringing the rest of the building with it. There would have been signs of the structural weakening, like a crack in a wall or floor tiles, but residents may have missed or dismissed the signs

Rescuers Hear Banging Sounds in Rubble of Collapsed Condo Near Miami

The question is, how is this building (Champlain Towers South) different from its sister buildings? Champlain Towers North was also built in 1981, but the third, Champlain Towers East is newer (1994).

 

[BOSCOE]

The question is, how is this building (Champlain Towers South) different from its sister buildings? Champlain Towers North was also built in 1981, but the third, Champlain Towers East is newer (1994).

You've brought up some excellent points in your posts. Something is really bothering me about this besides the obvious loss of life.

My prayers and thoughts to all involved and affected by this tragedy and miracles in the rescue efforts.

 

[Jax49]

Live Press Conference:

159 unaccounted for

4 known deceased

 

[mickey2942]

Security video shows Florida condo being pelted with debris before collapse

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

From the article:
"The Champlain Towers South in Surfside, near Miami Beach, had been reportedly sinking at a rate of two millimeters a year since the 90s, and inspectors visited the doomed building as recently as Wednesday, according to local media."

Interesting. The building was inspected on Wednesday?!

 

[IceIce9]

Florida condo collapse: Family, friends of the missing cling to hope



"They were in the tower that first collapsed," he said. "We saw it when we saw the video. It's the very first tower that comes down, that was their unit."

"Hope just disintegrated at that point," he said.

Rodriguez said the building was going through recertification, which involves inspection. His mother had complained the night before that she heard creaking. Rodriguez now wonders if that was connected, and he wants answers.

 

[indicolite22]

From the article:
"The Champlain Towers South in Surfside, near Miami Beach, had been reportedly sinking at a rate of two millimeters a year since the 90s, and inspectors visited the doomed building as recently as Wednesday, according to local media."

Interesting. The building was inspected on Wednesday?!

BBM. I think it was said that the building was in the middle of the 40-year inspection which is taking months.

 

[Dontknow?]

Stephanie Ruhle Reports
@RuhleOnMSNBC
3m

"We are hearing consistent tapping,"
@MayorDaniella
says about the scene of the building collapse in Surfside, FL.

https://twitter.com/RuhleOnMSNBC/status/1408415458798227456?s=20

 

[branmuffin]

The question is, how is this building (Champlain Towers South) different from its sister buildings? Champlain Towers North was also built in 1981, but the third, Champlain Towers East is newer (1994).

I read that buildings requirements changed for the better in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew to withstand wind speeds of 180 mph. I don't see how those regulations would have impacted the general substrate of Florida's geology or the corrosive effect of salt water on rebar and spalling, though. I used to live on the North Sea coast in England and brickwork would deteriorate with huge amount of salt building up on the brickwork essentially turning them to powder. Stone buildings didn't see that level of deterioration.

 

[branmuffin]

I don't know how long it will take to find survivors but I've read that people who were stuck in collapsed buildings survived longer if it rained because it gave them an opportunity to hydrate themselves.

I have nothing but respect and awe for those rescuers working in such dangerous and terrifying conditions to find survivors.

 

[Dontknow?]

CNN Weather Center
@CNNweather

Thunderstorms are in the forecast for Surfside, Florida again - similar to the storms Thursday that halted search and rescue efforts after a residential building collapsed. https://cnn.it/2UtOSkQ

 

[Eloise]

I hope they find survivors. I hope the noises they're hearing are from people, and not just from the rubble and ruins shifting.

As tragically shocking this collapse is, I'm almost surprised it doesn't happen more often. I live in a complex with just three walk-up storeys, built late 80s/early 90s, and they are (thankfully proactively) constantly having to repair concrete and deal with leaks and water issues. And we're not basically on the beach as this building was.

Recently a couple of high rises in Sydney were evacuated because of structural issues found and I know that construction occurring in blocks adjacent were definitely determined to be an issue. Dodgy building certification was another.

But in this case I think it's going to be a combo of lots of things: building basically on sand that's changing and moving all the time partly because of sea level changes; repairs and maintenance not being taken seriously enough; the work on the roof combined with work in nearby blocks; and maybe internal renovations where load bearing walls were removed without any kind of inspection or certification. I think the latter is definitely something that needs to be considered and looked at closely - every apartment block I've ever lived in has had occupants who have undertaken renos without full approval.

 

[moonriverfarm]

They just showed video on David Muir newscast of one such an area. Water filled area underneath the collapse etc.

can you link?

 

[sds71]

According to public statements made by [URL='https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/06/25/surfside-condo-attorney-says-its-too-early-to-tell-what-went-wrong/']Defendant’s attorney Ken Direktor, ‘repair needs had been identified’ with regard to certain structural issues but had not been implemented; one of the most breathtakingly frightening tragedies in the history of South Florida followed,” the lawsuit stated.

The complaint alleges that the collapse could have been prevented “through the exercise of ordinary care, safety measures and oversight.”

[/URL]
First lawsuit filed following partial building collapse in Surfside