As the days go by and rescue work continues on the partially collapsed building in Miami, questions about how a building of 11 plants in question of 11 seconds multiply .
And also, new evidence and details are beginning to appear that will help experts to determine the causes over time.
Since last weekend, media of the United States have published documents that report a notable deterioration in the facilities of the Champlain Tower South.
This is the case of a letter sent in April last to the owners of the apartments in which it was alerted that the “deterioration of the concrete” was “accelerating” and that the damage “would begin to multiply exponentially.”
The letter , sent by the president of the Champlain Towers South homeowners association Jean Wodnicki aimed to explain to tenants why a renovation would be in 1981 had been estimated at about US $ 9 million had risen to almost US $ 16 million three years later.
- What will happen to the part of the Miami building that did not fall (and with the sister towers still standing)
- “The building that collapsed in Miami had been sinking decades ago, but that alone does not explain the collapse”
Recertification
The Chaplain Towers South is a condominium of 12 plants and more than 100 oceanfront apartments located in North Miami Beach.
The edi ficio was completed in 1981, according to data from the city.
Since current regulations establish that constructions of this type must pass an inspection to the 40 years to guarantee its habitability, the building was undergoing repairs to be able to be inspected by experts and obtain their recertification, according to local authorities.
An engineering consultant, Frank Morabito, had been hired in 2018 to make the initial evaluation for the process and in his report then indicated that there were “ abundant cracks ”and landslides in the building’s underground parking lot.
The inspection found serious damage to the concrete slab below of the pool deck – to the point of signaling that it had “exhausted its useful life” – and problems at the entrance that were “causing a significant structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas. ”
For 2021, as Wodnicki mentioned in the April 9 letter, the building was in worse condition.
“The observable damage, as in the garage, has significantly worsened since the initial inspection , ”he wrote in the letter, which was first accessed by the USA newspaper. Today .
“When you can visually see the chipped (cracked) concrete, that means the reinforcing bar that holds it together is rusting and deteriorating below the surface ”, warned Wodnicki.
Others a warnings
Wodnicki also pointed out that “the deterioration of concrete” was “accelerating” and that “The roof situation got much worse.”
“New problems have been identified. Also, the costs increase every year. This is how we have gone from US $ 9. 128. 549. 73 Estimated in the report of 2018 of Frank Morabito, to the much higher figure we have today, “he explained.
Wodnicki also warned that it was” impossible to know the extent of the damage to the underlying reinforcing bar “until the
“Often the damage is more extensive than can be determined by inspecting the surface,” he added.
The letter to residents presented a bleaker picture of the building’s condition than they were given, they claim, after the inspection of 2018.
Many of those who survived the collapse say that at that time they were told that the building was “in very good condition.”
It is not clear if the elements noted in Wodnicki’s letter are linked to the collapse.
The experts warn that it is too early to draw hasty conclusions about the causes and recall that although the inspections determined “major structural damage”, they did not warn about the possibility of imminent collapse.
This type of damage is frequent in old buildings and especially in those located in the area facing the sea and this does not necessarily imply that they are at risk of collapse .
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