The Miami Surfside Condo Collapse — An unnatural disaster with dire repercussions
News analysis by Maria Wehbe, Featured Writer
July 17th, 2021
On June 24th, 2021, the 12-story Champlain Towers South apartment block in the town of Surfside in Miami, Florida collapsed in a matter of seconds while its residents were sound asleep. To be more precise, the building managed to collapse in just 12 seconds. The building contained 136 apartments, of which 55 collapsed, leaving piles of debris. Some people compared the scene to the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers.
Finding survivors is said to be “no longer possible” and so, the search and rescue efforts have been put to a halt. The Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava, shifted the mission: it is no longer a rescue mission, but rather a recovery one. Hundreds of firefighters and rescuers, some of which coming from Mexico, were picking through the rubble, yet it was necessary to put the rescue operation to an end given the instabilities of the structure that were posing a threat to their lives. As of July 8th, 54 bodies have been found and there are more than 80 people that are still missing. This is the formal end of the search for survivors. Crews have not been able to find anyone alive since shortly after the collapse. On July 7th, 18 bodies had been found which was the biggest single-day spike in the death toll yet. Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said, “the decision to call off the rescue effort was not an easy one, as our hearts still hoped to find survivors, but our experience and expertise indicated that was no longer possible.” The crews were able to remove 124 tons of debris, yet none of the victims that had been recovered survived the horrific collapse. “You find strollers and baby bottles, toys – it just brings a sense of reality to the moment. It’s very touching because I have kids myself”, says Lieutenant Douglas Duarte who is part of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Team.
What made the rescue efforts even more difficult, further pushing the mayor to put them to a halt, was Tropical Storm Elsa. Rescue teams were battling the storm in search of many people that were still unaccounted for, whereby they were faced with lightning and strong winds. They had to stop every once in a while, in order to check their oxygen levels, their pulse as well as making sure that their physical condition was well enough to continue the search efforts. The remaining section of the partially collapsed apartment block has been demolished as a result of safety fears, since the tropical storm was approaching Florida. Initially, the crews resumed the search efforts a few hours after the demolition and the goal was to be able to get into the apartment’s garage, which they were not able to safely access before, in order to get a clearer picture of any voids that may be present in the rubble. Unfortunately, although the firefighters and rescue teams were more motivated than ever, determined to give it their all no matter the cost, they had no choice but to step down given the danger and the risk that the mission was putting them in.
What caused the 40-year-old building to collapse is still unknown. However, it was undergoing a standard “recertification” process and required repairs according to officials. In fact, an engineer’s report dating back to 2018 stated that the building had “major structural damage” to the concrete platform beneath the swimming pool deck as well as “abundant cracking… of columns, beams and walls” in the garage. Also, experts who studied the area where the building was built found out that it was sinking back in the 1990s. Satellites were able to detect that the land was sinking approximately 2 mm per year for the last three decades. Yet, Professor Shimon Wdowinski, who wrote the report, said that land subsidence alone wouldn’t cause a building to collapse. And so, a full investigation into the causes behind this collapse began after the rescue efforts. Currently, the debris is being sorted so that it is stored in a warehouse as potential evidence in the investigation as to why the building collapsed. “The men and women who arrived here in the early morning hours of June 24 did not anticipate the tragedy that had unfolded before their eyes. These courageous individuals saw the possibility to save lives at the risk of losing their own and immediately acted”, added Cominsky.
In addition, it is worth noting that there are some significant concerns regarding the structural integrity of another condominium near the Champlain Towers South building that is still standing not too far from the rubble. In fact, it is essentially the same building that was built by the same developer at the same time and with the same plans, probably with the same materials as well, noted Charles Burkett, the Mayor of Surfside. This has led officials to be concerned and weary of another collapse given the unknown reason for the 12-story building collapse. “We’re going to do everything we can to look at those structural systems including ground-penetrating radar, the columns, the beams, the slabs, and try to get our arms around what may be happening, what did happen”, added Burkett.
Diana Winner, who’s aunt survived, said the following: “I feel sad that people don’t really stand up and say it’s time to do something about it; we need to pay attention to this and do what we need to do. Too many lives have been lost as a result of it. I believe that this tragedy could have been avoided.” To say that this tragedy resembled that of 9/11 truly puts the situation into perspective and sheds light on how dire and horrific it truly is. Although the rescue teams have been giving it their all, the decision to put the rescue mission to a halt and to transform it into a recovery one means that many more lives have been lost, more than one would have thought. It is important that officials and those responsible for taking care of the structural damage truly evaluate the neighboring building in order to avoid a disaster like this happening a second time.