As rescue teams work tirelessly in the search for survivors after the collapse of an apartment building in Miami last Thursday, questions and theories about the possible causes of the collapse multiply.
In their daily appearance, local authorities said this Saturday that the balance is still four fatalities and 159 people I don’t know has been able to locate .
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava stressed that the operation is a “search and rescue” operation and that the teams working among the rubble of the building they hope to find people alive.
Search efforts have been hampered by the appearance of several fires at the base of the building that firefighters try to turn off.
In this context, more and more voices are emerging that wonder how something like this could happen and if other similar buildings in the area are safe to live.
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“Structural damage”
It has been known, for example, that an inspection of 2018 revealed “a major error” in the original design of the blo than apartments.
The report of the engineering firm Morabito Consultants , which became known late on Friday, warned of a failure below of the pool platform that prevented the drainage of water at the base of the Champlain Towers.
The study was made public together with a series of documents released by the city of Surfside, where the edifice.
The engineer who led the investigation, Frank Morabito, said that the lack of an adequate drainage system was a “systemic issue” that stemmed from an error “in the development of the documents original contractual “.
According to the report, the waterproofing under the pool deck was placed flat instead of sloping , preventing water from draining .
“Failed waterproofing is causing significant structural damage to the concrete slab below these areas. If the waterproofing is not replaced in the near future, the deterioration of the concrete will expand exponentially “, warned the report.
Morabito also mentioned “abundant cracks in the columns, beams and walls” of the garage.
Your report did not suggest that the building of 40 years was in imminent danger of collapse , but Morabito urged that the repairs to solve the problem be carried out “in a timely manner.”
There are no clear indications in the public records of whether the repairs were carried out or if the problems mentioned contributed to the structural failure .
And the other buildings?
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis promised that authorities will find out what happened.
“We need a definitive explanation on how this could have happened. I think that everyone who has been directly affected wants that answer, but we also need to know if it is something older or is it just something unique to that building, “DeSantis said at a press conference from the site of the collapse.
For her part, Mayor Levine Cava announced at the same press conference as in the next 30 days an inspection of all buildings will be carried out from 40 years old or more located on the waterfront in the county to determine their safety.
Champlain Towers has a sister building in the same area of the city of Surfside and the concern has spread to its residents that, as the a The mayor of the town, Charles Burkett, wonder: “ is my apartment safe? “
The mayor spoke this Saturday about the need to answer that question and was in favor of a preventive evacuation of the twin building so that the engineers can carry out an exhaustive review.
“That building has the same design and the same builder, and probably the same materials as well,” said Burkett.
Recertification process
The Champlain Towers complex, built in 1981, should undergo a million dollar renovation to pass the inspection of the 40 years, required in Surfside and many other Miami-Dade County cities, and obtain the long-awaited recertification.
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Champlain Towers South association attorney Donna Berger told The Real Deal real estate portal that, as part of that process, they had commissioned restoration work on the building’s concrete .
These works were to be financed with a credit line of $ 12 millions of dollars and owners were to pay an extraordinary amount of about $ 8, 000 dollars per apartment.
Berger ruled out that the works that were being carried out on the roof of the building could have caused the collapse.
“All these buildings on the coast are affected by the weather. It is as it is, ”he said.
The experts who have ruled on the collapse of the building agree that it is unlikely that a single factor can be identified as the cause of the collapse and predict that l to investigation on what happened will be long and complex.