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

[Lamima]

Could anyone be in garage alive? When they show rescue workers underneath in knee deep water, is that a garage?

 

[Ann99]

The article speaks to the 2018 Engineering report.

'Deep fire' slowing rescue effort at collapsed Florida condo


THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) —

The oceanfront condominium building that collapsed near Miami had “major structural damage” to a concrete slab below its pool deck that needed to be extensively repaired, according to a 2018 engineering report on the building.

The report was among a series of documents released by the city of Surfside as rescuers continued to dig Saturday through the rubble of the building in an effort to find any of the 159 people who remain unaccounted for after its collapse...

...While the engineering report from the firm of Morabito Consultants did not warn of imminent danger from the damage — and it is unclear if any of the damage observed was responsible for the collapse — it did note the need for extensive and costly repairs to fix the systemic issues with the building.

It said the waterproofing under the pool deck had failed and had been improperly laid flat instead of sloped, preventing water from draining off.

“The failed waterproofing is causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas. Failure to replaced the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially,” the report said.

The firm recommended that the damaged slabs be replaced in what would be a major repair...

...The report also uncovered “abundant cracking and spalling” of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage. Some of the damage was minor, while other columns had exposed and deteriorating rebar. It also noted that many of the building’s previous attempts to fix the columns and other damage with epoxy were marred by poor workmanship and were failing.

Beneath the pool deck “where the slab had been epoxy-injected, new cracks were radiating from the originally repaired cracks,” the report said.

Abi Aghayere, a Drexel University engineering researcher, said the extent of the damage shown in the engineering report was notable.

In addition to possible problems under the pool, he said several areas above the entrance drive showing signs of deterioration were worrisome and should have been repaired immediately because access issues prevented a closer inspection....
#

NOTE: This article was updated during the time I read it. Basic info is still there, wording may have changed a bit. I assume it will continue to update... changing wording from time to time.
Parking garage area must have been underneath the entire structure, or a major portion. Does anyone know with certainty?

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Engineer warned of 'major structural damage' years before Florida condo collapsed (nbcnews.com)

“Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially,” Frank Morabito said in the October 2018 report.

A consultant warned there was evidence of “major structural damage” below the pool deck of a Miami Beach-area condo building nearly three years before it collapsed.

As officials continue to investigate what caused the deadly collapse at Champlain Towers South, officials in the Florida city’s Surfside suburb late Friday released a trove of documents related to the building, including the consultant's October 2018 report.

The findings from consultant engineer Frank Morabito also showed there was “abundant cracking” and crumbling in the underground parking garage of the 12-story building, which suddenly collapsed as residents slept in the early hours of Thursday morning...

 

[dixiegirl1035]

At this link there is a good before and after graphic. While the pool does look sunken I see now the pavers might merely be covered in dust.

INTERACTIVE: See before and after photos of Florida condo building collapse

Yes, pool areas around it is not only sunken.. it has dropped tremendously and not sure what you are getting at to mention "merely covered in dust" pavers covered with dust. But 10 feet away... the entire deck of the pool has collapsed.

Yep... good call that the pool still had structural integrity .

So.. shall I interpret that you are saying that the 3 feet around the pool is covered in dust... agree. Pool was still there... and heck, I cannot even see from such the pool s sunken, but the area around it did indeed give way.

As to the "pavers might merely be covered in dust".. what are you pointing towards ? Yes, agree, that most all for all to see is covered in dust.

 

[SuziQ]

Yes, pool areas around it is not only sunken.. it has dropped tremendously and not sure what you are getting at to mention "merely covered in dust" pavers covered with dust. But 10 feet away... the entire deck of the pool has collapsed.

Yep... good call that the pool still had structural integrity .

So.. shall I interpret that you are saying that the 3 feet around the pool is covered in dust... agree. Pool was still there... and heck, I cannot even see from such the pool s sunken, but the area around it did indeed give way.

As to the "pavers might merely be covered in dust".. what are you pointing towards ? Yes, agree, that most all for all to see is covered in dust.

Eta. I thought the pavers were gone. But it's now clear they were covered in dust in the pic I was viewing. Sorry.

I agree. I retract my previous statement. The pics I viewed last night are not as good as the pics I saw this morning.

At the below link are pictures of cracking and spalling of the building.

Miami condo was flagged for 'major structural damage' in damning report three years before collapse | Daily Mail Online

 

[MimosaMornings]

The parking garage was underneath the 12 story condo building/residences? Was it just one level or multilevel parking?

It wasn’t a separate parking garage or deck?

This is on my mind when staying at a beachfront multistory complex with a parking area beneath the living area - constantly exposed to the elements and repeated salt water/flooding/hurricane activity.

 

[Ann99]

Engineer warned of 'major structural damage' years before Florida condo collapsed (nbcnews.com)

“Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially,” Frank Morabito said in the October 2018 report.

A consultant warned there was evidence of “major structural damage” below the pool deck of a Miami Beach-area condo building nearly three years before it collapsed.

As officials continue to investigate what caused the deadly collapse at Champlain Towers South, officials in the Florida city’s Surfside suburb late Friday released a trove of documents related to the building, including the consultant's October 2018 report.

The findings from consultant engineer Frank Morabito also showed there was “abundant cracking” and crumbling in the underground parking garage of the 12-story building, which suddenly collapsed as residents slept in the early hours of Thursday morning...

This ^ article has a little more detail

"Morabito went on to recommend that concrete slabs, which were “showing distress” by the entrance and pool deck, “be removed and replaced in their entirety.
Unfortunately, all of these failed slab areas are under brick pavers, decorative stamped concrete and planters which require completed waterproofing replacement,” he said."

 

[Antimony]

Some things from blueprints:
Two levels of parking, lots of parking space.
Pool went into lower parking space with it's foundation.
Water in parking area could be from simply not turning off the main water service to the building after it fell.
Piles were precast concrete, driven down 50'. (seems shallow to me)
Big penthouse suite on top. Mucho balconies and room. I can see why it is pricey.
From the pix and diagrams it looks as if the elevator towers are intact.
Some of the rebar from the sheared off floors is visible in Pix. Clean and all the same length. looks like not pulled apart.

 

[CrimeAway]

This short news report shows pictures of decay to concrete pillars in one of the neighboring condo units, Champlain Towers EAST.

ETA screenshots of the damage from the video above.

 

[Jax49]

This short news report shows pictures of decay to concrete pillars in one of the neighboring condo units, Champlain Towers EAST.

ETA screenshots of the damage from the video above.

Did I understand correctly, he said the damage appeared AFTER the nearby collapse?

 

[CrimeAway]

Did I understand correctly, he said the damage appeared AFTER the nearby collapse?

That's what I heard also.

 

[Ann99]

That's what I heard also.

Yes, and something about ' They are TALKING about evacuating residents..'
TALKING.

 

[BOSCOE]

Personally I wouldn't be anywhere near there in the aftermath. It wouldn't take an official evacuation order for me to leave. But that's me and MOO.

My heart breaks for all affected.

 

[Lamima]

8777 Collins unit 910 just sold June 17 for $710K. On zillow. So awful. Bunk beds with computer chair in photo. It is tower south. Not sure which towers collapsed. Another sold for almost $3million in May (penthouse). Edit to add...was half of the south tower that collapsed.

 

[IQuestion]

I believe that the parking garage is under the entire deck area, but not the pool. So you drive into the parking garage and above you is the paved decking. The reports of water damage and degradation of the waterproofing on the deck, around the planters, et to me imply there was also concrete / steel damage because of the leaks from water on the deck, but also salt water corrosion at the floor of the garage / foundation.

That would seem to be a very messy, expensive thing to correct, having to take up all the decking and planters, remove any damaged concrete, and replace the waterproofing. Losing use of a lot of the deck and the parking spaces. $$$ and not popular with the owners, as it would almost appear to be a cosmetic thing rather than truly a mandatory infrastructure repair.

I also recall the 2018 report said it was worst near the entrance to the parking garage, which would have been very close to the pillars holding up the section that you can see collapsing first, right next to the elevator tower.

I'm not going to be staying in any old seaside high-rises for the forseeable future.

HERAT..... thank you for your excellent post. I did a "what if" scenario with someone yesterday. "If you were standing on a chair with 4 legs and I kicked out part of one leg, what would happen to you?" Reply, "I would fall down in the direction of the leg you just broke." (Please don't do this at home! Just try to imagine it though...a chair is solidly in place, but even a 3 inch piece broken off of one leg can suddenly cause an impossibly dangerous & uncorrectable chain of events.)
Ok, Warwick, you are our resident architect (thank you btw)... my home experiment/analogy is the simpleton's way of trying to make sense of this massive collapse. IE, Can the failure of one corner (concrete pillars), bring down a building?

 

[Lamima]

This is an interesting article.
USA TODAY

 

[indicolite22]

8777 Collins unit 910 just sold June 17 for $710K. On zillow. So awful. Bunk beds with computer chair in photo. It is tower south. Not sure which towers collapsed. Another sold for almost $3million in May (penthouse). Edit to add...was half of the south tower that collapsed.

Unit 910 was on the pool side in the middle of the building. The big penthouse was facing the ocean. Both are gone.

 

[Skigh]

Miami condo was flagged for 'major structural damage' in damning report three years before collapse | Daily Mail Online

 

[Warwick1991]

HERAT..... thank you for your excellent post. I did a "what if" scenario with someone yesterday. "If you were standing on a chair with 4 legs and I kicked out part of one leg, what would happen to you?" Reply, "I would fall down in the direction of the leg you just broke." (Please don't do this at home! Just try to imagine it though...a chair is solidly in place, but even a 3 inch piece broken off of one leg can suddenly cause an impossibly dangerous & uncorrectable chain of events.)
Ok, Warwick, you are our resident architect (thank you btw)... my home experiment/analogy is the simpleton's way of trying to make sense of this massive collapse. IE, Can the failure of one corner, bring down a building?

The failure of a column can definitely bring down a building, although there are quite a few columns. It would depend on the rest of the structural system - whether there's any redundant capacity, the location of the failed column, and what kind of system is used to support the floors. The failure could also have been where the column meets the concrete slab above, if the slab reinforcing lost much of its strength - punching shear.

When I saw another building (not Champlain Towers South) with a pool and pool deck on top of the parking garage, I felt the potential for deterioration was great. In other buildings I've observed with the same design, I saw signs of deterioration. Unless designed and constructed with great care, water damage potential is great. I think Morabito's 2018 report may be the key to what happened. Clearly, the pool deck was a source of water intrusion into the garage below. The repairs would have been very costly and inconvenient, so the condominium board might have put it on the back burner. At the very least, they should have investigated further, with concrete samples taken from various locations. The engineer alerted his clients to risk, but the response was not necessarily in his hands.

I'll say again that we need to wait for NIST and other consultants to complete their investigation. We are long way from that now.

BTW, @whitelilac is an architect also.

 

[Dontknow?]

This building being demolished by hand collapsed 3 years ago with a worker hurt. It's 3 blocks from this building on Collins Ave. It is almost 20 years older though. Not finding out why or what happened to cause it to collapse. Implosions aren't allowed in Miami-Dade, per another article I read.

Worker hurt when building set for demolition collapses in Miami Beach

Building had demolition permit, but not implosion permit, police say

Worker hurt when building set for demolition collapses in Miami Beach

Found this

History of building, structure collapses in Miami-Dade County
Another condo collapse occurred along Collins Avenue as recently as 2018

https://www.wptv.com/news/state/mia...ding-structure-collapses-in-miami-dade-county