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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Wing of Miami-area condo collapses; at least 1 person dead

    SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — A wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed in a town outside Miami early Thursday morning, killing at least one person while trapping residents in rubble and twisted metal. Scores of rescuers pulled survivors from the debris as a cloud of dust floated through the neighborhood.


    Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett warned during a news conference that the building manager told him the tower was quite full and the death toll was likely to rise.


    “The building is literally pancaked,” Burkett said. “That is heartbreaking because it doesn’t mean to me that we are going to be as successful as we wanted to be in finding people alive.”


    Rescuers have pulled 35 people from the building and were continuing to look for more, Raide Jadallah, assistant fire chief of operations for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, said at a news conference.


    Earlier, Burkett said two people were brought to the hospital, one of whom died. He added that 15 families walked out of the building on their own.


    Work is currently being done on the building’s roof, but Burkett said he did not see how that could have caused the collapse. Authorities did not said what the cause may be.


    The collapse left a number of homes in the still-standing part of the building exposed. Television footage showed bunk beds, tables and chairs still left inside. Air conditioner units were hanging from some parts of the building, where wires now dangled.


    “I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’ve never seen anything like this happen,” the mayor said.


    Barry Cohen, 63, said he and his wife were asleep in the building when he first heard what he thought was a crack of lightning. The couple went onto their balcony, then opened the door to the building's hallway to find “a pile of rubble and dust and smoke billowing around.”


    “I couldn’t walk out past my doorway,” said Cohen, the former vice mayor of Surfside. “A gaping hole of rubble.”


    He and his wife eventually made it to the basement and found rising water there. They returned upstairs, screamed for help and were eventually brought to safety by firefighters using a cherry-picker.


    Cohen said he raised concerns years ago about whether nearby construction might be causing damage to the building after seeing cracked pavers on the pool deck.


    Santo Mejil, 50, told the Miami Herald that his wife called him from the building, where she was working as an aide for an elderly woman.


    “She said she heard a big explosion. It felt like an earthquake,” Mejil told the newspaper. He said she later called him and said rescuers were bringing her down.


    Miami Dade Fire Rescue was conducting search and rescue operations, and said in a tweet that more than 80 units were “on scene with assistance from municipal fire departments.”


    Police blocked nearby roads, and scores of fire and rescue vehicles, ambulances and police cars swarmed the area. Teams of firefighters walked through the rubble, picking up survivors and carrying them from the wreckage.


    “We’re on the scene so it’s still very active,” said Sgt. Marian Cruz of the Surfside Police Department. “What I can tell you is the building is 12 floors. The entire back side of the building has collapsed.”


    The collapse appeared to affect one leg of the L-shaped tower. Piles of rubble and debris surrounded the area just outside the building, and cars up to two blocks away were coated with with a light layer of dust from the debris.


    The seaside condo development was built in 1981 in the southeast corner of Surfside. It had a few two-bedroom units currently on the market, with asking prices of $600,000 to $700,000.


    The area has a mix of new and old apartments, houses, condominiums and hotels, with restaurants and stores serving an international combination of residents and tourists. The community provides a stark contrast from bustle and glitz of nearby South Beach with a slower-paced neighborhood feel.


    Wing of Miami-area condo collapses; at least 1 person dead

  2. #2
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    It had a few two-bedroom units currently on the market, with asking prices of $600,000 to $700,000.
    "Had" being the operative word.

  3. #3
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Surveillance video captures eerie moments as part of Surfside condo collapses

    Nearby surveillance video captures the eerie moments as part of the Champlain Towers building collapsed early Thursday morning in Surfside.

    During a news conference, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed that the 12-story building that was built in 1981 houses more than 130 units. She said about half of the units collapsed.

    The video shows the swiftness with which the building “pancaked” during the collapse leaving a pile of rubble in its wake.

    Local news: WPLG Local 10
    Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

  4. #4
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Jaysus that collapsed like a clown's car didn't it?

    No wonder they're expecting fatalities to rise.

    51 people unaccounted for.

  5. #5
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    99 people, as of 2 p.m. Thursday are not accounted for, but the numbers are constantly changing, officials say.: Surfside collapse: Loved ones name, show photos of those they say are missing



  6. #6
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    Buckaroo Banzai's Avatar
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    After seeing the above video, I cant believe the death roll will not rise significantly.
    Having spend a significant part of my working carrier as concrete form specialist in the construction of high rise buildings exactly like this,. and being aware of all the required inspections nessacery before and after concrete is poured, I find this collapse shocking.
    Heads will roll.
    The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up.

  7. #7
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by S Landreth View Post
    99 people, as of 2 p.m. Thursday are not accounted for, but the numbers are constantly changing, officials say.: Surfside collapse: Loved ones name, show photos of those they say are missing
    That's just incredible . . . simply collapsed into itself. Scenes we see from planned detonations, so precise (no, no a conspiracy theory)




    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    No wonder they're expecting fatalities to rise.
    Can you expect anyone to survive that? Jaysus

  9. #9
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    Buckaroo Banzai's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by S Landreth View Post
    Thank you for that link. Please know that I am simply speculating , no way to tell from a video and some news reports. I am sure we will hear a lot more about this.
    Though I am sure the age of the building could had been a contributing factor in the collapse, I don't think it is the factor that initiated the event. If age related conditions significant enough to precipitate the collapse were present ,they would gave manifested themselves in other subtle and not so subtle ways that would had given warning.
    Not having much information specific to that building and conditions in the surrounding area (I understand there was construction rear by) I would initially concentrate on the foundation, it's engineering, and the affect geology and near by construction had on the foundation.
    The collapse as viewed in the video reminded my of a controlled demolition, where charges are placed on structural members that transfer loads to the foundation. Once they go , it initiates a cascade affect . This is not a event where a column failed and a corner collapsed , This was catastrophic.
    I am shocked! I am sure we will be hearing a lot more about this in the days to come.

  10. #10
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    Buckaroo Banzai's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    That's just incredible . . . simply collapsed into itself. Scenes we see from planned detonations, so precise (no, no a conspiracy theory)
    Yea, not a conspiracy theory also,
    but when I watched the video I thought the same.

  11. #11
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai View Post
    I find this collapse shocking.
    Heads will roll.
    I bet they wont. I bet the construction company will have conveniently folded/closed/disappeared.

    Quote Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai View Post
    Though I am sure the age of the building could had been a contributing factor in the collapse,
    1981

  12. #12
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Mass casualty event: ‘Catastrophic’ building collapse, 99 missing

    One person is confirmed dead and 99 are missing as video shows a US high-rise collapse with the disaster declared a “mass casualty event”.
    Mathew Murphy

    JUNE 25, 20217:37AM



    Hundreds of fire and rescue workers scoured through tons of rubble on Thursday after a 12-story oceanfront building partially collapsed in southern Florida, with at least one person dead and 51 still unaccounted for,


    At least one person is dead and at least 99 people are missing after a high-rise apartment block in Florida “literally pancaked” while residents were sleeping, sparking a major emergency response.
    Online videos showed a large portion of the 12-storey building in the town of Surfside – just north of Miami Beach – reduced to rubble, with the apartments’ interiors exposed.
    Miami Dade authorities declared a “Level 5” mass casualty event meaning statewide emergency resources are required, according to reports.
    Further shocking footage shows the moment the towers collapsed, sending plumes of smoke into the air.
    Surfside’s mayor he was not optimistic of finding survivors in the collapsed part of the building — saying it has “literally pancaked”.




    One person is confirmed dead and dozens are missing as video shows a US high-rise collapse with the disaster declared a “mass casualty event”.





    Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

    High rise apartment block collapses in Miami: Photos

    The apartment building was reduced to rubble around 2am local Florida time.














    Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said more than 80 units responded to the collapse at the building around 2am (4pm AEST). They said 55 apartment units collapsed and first responders rescued 35 people trapped inside.
    Authorities say least 99 people are missing, and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said there are 102 people who have been accounted for so far.
    Surfside’s mayor Charles Burkett confirmed at least one person had died in hospital following the collapse.
    “This morning I was told by the chief that we treated 10 people on the site, two of those 10 were transported to the hospital. One has passed away,” he said.
    It was unknown how many people were injured or were inside the building at the time of the collapse.


    Mr Burkett said the building collapse was “less likely than a lightning strike.”
    “It looks like a bomb went off but we are pretty sure a bomb didn’t go off,” he said. “You just don’t see buildings like this fall down in America.”
    “There is no reason for this building to go down like this unless someone literally pulls out the supports from underneath, or they get washed out, or there is a sinkhole, or something like that because it just went down,” Mr Burkett said.


    He said the part of the building that remained in tact had been checked and cleared of residents but he was not optimistic of finding survivors in the collapsed part of the building.
    “The problem is the building has literally pancaked … It’s heartbreaking because it doesn’t mean, to me, that we’re going to be successful, as successful as we want to be, to find people alive.”
    He said there was construction happening on the roof but the equipment was not heavy enough to cause the partial collapse.
    Firefighters could be seen pulling a boy from the rubble alive.


    At least 18 Latin American nationals are known to be among the missing, according to the country’s consulates. They are three Uruguayans, nine Argentines and six Paraguayans, among them the sister of the country’s first lady.
    Surfside also has a large Jewish population and several rabbis were at the scene to help with rescue operations.
    The building was occupied by a mix of full-time and seasonal residents and renters, and officials have stressed it is unclear how many people were actually inside at the time.
    “It’s hard to get a count on it,” Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman told CNN. “You don’t know between vacations or anything else,” she said. “The hope is still there, but it’s waning.”


    Nicholas Balboa told the network he was outside walking his dog when he heard and felt the ground shake.
    He saw a plume of smoke and saw the collapsed building.
    After running home to drop off his dog he came back to the site.
    “I was thinking to myself, ‘How could anyone survive?’” Mr Balboa told the network.
    “As I was thinking that, I heard a voice yelling,” he said, adding that as he got closer, he saw the boy “sticking his hand up through the debris and I could see his hand and fingers wiggling.”

    The Champlain Tower on Collins Ave in Surfside before the collapse.Source:Supplied

    “I began to climb the debris to try and get to him. I used the light on my phone to signal firefighters to come over. A police officer came over and he radioed for fire rescue to come over,” he added. “So then they began their efforts to get him out. It was him and his mother. We could hear him. We could see him clearly. His mom, we weren’t able to see, we weren’t able to hear her, so I don’t know what her status is, but god willing, she’s OK.”
    He said the child was under his bed frame and mattress.
    “He was obviously sleeping,” Mr Balboa said. “I can only imagine how many people were in their apartments either sleeping or watching TV or just whatever, just living their lives, unbeknownst to them the building was about to break away.”
    “If it was not for me and another person being on the backside of the building I have no idea how long it would have been until they found him.”

    Rubble hangs from a partially collapsed building in Surfside north of Miami Beach.Source:AFP

    One witness, who was in a neighbouring building, said the collapse felt like a “tornado or earthquake”.
    The building is located one block away from where Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump currently live.

    First Responder personnel rescue a resident from a partially collapsed residential building in Miami Beach, Florida.Source:AFP

    Firefighters were also seen using a ladder truck to rescue people who were still in sections of the building that didn’t collapse.
    One of the residents Barry Cohen, who has lived in the building for three years, said he and his wife prayed as they waited to be rescued.
    “It must have been 20 minutes, it felt like a lifetime that we were trapped on the balcony of the building,” he told CNN. “When we were waiting to be rescued the building was still shaking. I thought at any minute we could be that same pile of rubble.”

    Police stand guard near a partially collapsed building a partially collapsed building in Surfside north of Miami Beach. Picture: Chandan Khanna/AFPSource:AFP

    “I thought the whole building was going to collapse so when we were in the cherry picker a feeling of relief came over me,” he said.
    The building was built in 1981 and had more than 130 units inside.
    President Joe Biden told reporters his administration stood ready to send emergency resources to Florida “immediately” if requested.
    “I say to the people of Florida, whatever help you want, that the federal government can provide, just ask us, we’ll be there,” he said.

    Miami Beach building collapse updates: Fears death toll will rise, 99 missing

  13. #13
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    Buckaroo Banzai's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheRealKW View Post
    I bet they wont. I bet the construction company will have conveniently folded/closed/disappeared.
    You are right about the construction company. but they are not the only ones involved, every step of the way is inspected and certified.
    Someone's name and license number is on the paper. So depending on what happened, and something did happen. Buildings don't go down like that.
    Wrong PSI concrete , insufficient pilling , incorrect geological, inadequate steel. Who knows. Some one or someones will take the fall.

  14. #14
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai View Post
    You are right about the construction company. but they are not the only ones involved, every step of the way is inspected and certified.
    Someone's name and license number is on the paper. So depending on what happened, and something did happen. Buildings don't go down like that.
    Wrong PSI concrete , insufficient pilling , incorrect geological, inadequate steel. Who knows. Some one or someones will take the fall.
    Buildings do go down like that.

    It only takes the top floor or floors to collapse and everything is in a race to the ground thereafter.


  15. #15
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Now four dead and 159 missing.

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    Thailand Expat havnfun's Avatar
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    Was built in the 80's,Fox news said it has been sinking 2mm a year and the Condo owners have been to court with the builders numerous times

  17. #17
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    First lawsuit filed after partial building collapse in Surfside

    The complaint alleges that the condominium association failed to “secure and safeguard the lives and property” of those who live at the building.

    “According to public statements made by Defendant’s attorney Ken Direktor, ‘repair needs had been identified’ with regard to certain structural issues but had not been implemented; one of the most breathtakingly frightening tragedies in the history of South Florida followed,” the lawsuit stated.

    The complaint alleges that the collapse could have been prevented “through the exercise of ordinary care, safety measures and oversight.”: First lawsuit filed following partial building collapse in Surfside

  18. #18
    Thailand Expat Backspin's Avatar
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    These 1980's cement boxes were selling for $600,000+. Ridiculous overvaluation.

    Why is it taking so long to account for the people ?

  19. #19
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai View Post
    You are right about the construction company. but they are not the only ones involved, every step of the way is inspected and certified.
    And they will blame the building work next door etc.

  20. #20
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    Deathtoll is now 4 with 159 unaccounted for.

    One of the problems they'd have with numbers and id is that a lot of snowbirds own and live there part time . . .

    Simply terrible to watch the collapse and see the lights go out one after the other

  21. #21
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    The lawsuits will be big.

    MIAMI: An engineer had warned three years before the deadly collapse of a Florida condominium building that there was evidence of “major structural damage” to the concrete slab below the pool deck.

    His report also noted abundant cracking and crumbling in the underground parking garage, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

    A large section of the 12-storey building in the Miami suburb of Surfside collapsed suddenly in the early hours of Thursday as residents slept, in a disaster for which the cause is not yet known.

    Four people have been confirmed killed and 159 are still unaccounted for, with search-and-rescue teams working around the clock through an unstable mountain of debris.


    The death toll is certain to rise with one floor of the high-rise stacked atop another like pancakes. Aided by dogs, cameras, sonar and heavy equipment, rescuers looked for any spaces that may have formed in the debris, leaving any possible survivors air to breathe.
    Engineer sounded alarm about doomed Florida condo

  22. #22
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    One of the problems they'd have with numbers and id is that a lot of snowbirds own and live there part time . . .
    And AirBnB flats

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Backspin View Post
    Why is it taking so long to account for the people ?
    FFS, have you seen the video?

  24. #24
    Thailand Expat helge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Backspin View Post
    Why is it taking so long to account for the people ?
    Just speculating:

    You would think that the telephone companies would know of your whereabouts these days.

  25. #25
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    The lawsuits will be big.

    they will be

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