Florida’s second building collapsed, killing 22 condominium towers by Reuters

By Katanga Johnson and Francisco Alvarado

SURFSIDE, Florida (Reuters) – The death toll rose to 22 after a Florida condominium tower collapsed on Friday after the remains of four other victims were found among the rubble, and local officials ordered the evacuation of a second set of residences. .

Crestview Towers told all residents of the second building to leave after engineers found serious concrete and electrical problems, said Arthur Sorey, city director for North Miami Beach.

The move was deemed urgent due to the approach of Hurricane Isla and is expected to arrive in Florida from Monday. The owners of the building had not yet begun construction and began the process of a new mandatory safety certification to be completed in 40 years, he said.

“It’s definitely not an easy decision,” Sorey said. “It’s the right thing to do in these times. We don’t know what will happen to the storm.”

The last remnants of the debris left by the 12-story Champlain Tower in the South Surfside left 126 people dead, still missing and feared. He has not survived the wreckage since the first hours when the tower partially sank in early June 24.

The number of people on the missing list dropped to 17 since Thursday, when Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters that the totals were “light” and were sometimes revised through the work of investigators.

Levine Cava said he had signed an order to demolish part of the rest of the tower because it had been in danger of being largely unstable on Thursday because it disrupted search and rescue work.

“It’s important to note that we are still evaluating all possible impacts and are determining the best timeline to actually start demolition,” he said.

The operation was increased on Friday by three of the nine networks mapped across the waste area.

HURACAN ISLAND THREAT

The crew wanted to make strides ahead of the expected arrival of Elsa as it strengthened in the first hurricane of the 2021 season on Friday in the Caribbean Sea.

The storm could approach South Florida on Monday, National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Molleda told reporters there may be tropical storm winds on Sunday. Elsa’s prediction path continues for sure.

Among those killed at Surfside on Friday was the daughter of a firefighter, the death of a third child recovered so far. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told the Miami Herald that the firefighter was at the recovery site at the time, although he did not dig through the rubble.

The man and his brother, also a firefighter, have been on the scene since last week, the Herald said. The paper says about 200 officials greeted him for carrying the body.

“All the victims we’ve removed are very difficult,” said Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Alan Cominsky. “Last night was even more so when we were removing the daughter of a firefighter. We firefighters do what we do. It’s kind of a call. But it’s still costly.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on Twitter that more than 400 members of the U.S. Army Reserve from Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia had arrived to help with the Surfside effort.

Investigators have not determined what caused the 40-year-old complex to collapse suddenly into a set that may be the most sunken building in U.S. history.

A 2018 engineering report prepared for the 40-year recertification process found structural shortcomings, which are now the focus of consultations that include the jury’s review.

USA Today, citing a 2020 document obtained from a victim’s family, reported that the company had “strange results” after testing the depth of a concrete slab under the pool. The document did not specify, the newspaper said.

As soon as April, the president of the condominium association warned residents that the engineer had noticed that the serious concrete damage identified at the base of the building had deteriorated significantly.

Several lawsuits have already been filed against the association committee alive and on behalf of the victims.

In a statement on Friday, management – some of the members remain missing – said it would appoint an independent receiver to “oversee legal and claims processes.”