Miami building collapse: No more survivors found overnight as fire hinders rescue efforts
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Your support makes all the difference.There has been no update to the number of survivors from the Miami building collapse overnight on Friday, officials said.
Rescue teams were still working to locate 159 unaccounted for people after the 12-storey Champlain Towers South building fell on Thursday. Four people have been confirmed dead.
One problem impacting the search efforts was a fire that’s burning deep within the rubble from the collapse.
Authorities were now working to locate the source of the fire, or fires, while also finding ways to still search for any possible survivors.
More fatalities are expected as authorities warned the number of missing from the collapsed apartment complex in Florida could increase from the current figure of 159.
Meanwhile, a researcher at Florida International University has revealed that the building had been sinking into the ground since the 1990s.
Firefighters rescued 35 people from the Champlain Tower South building that collapsed in the middle of the night on Thursday in Surfside, a beachside town just 6 miles (9.6 km) north of Miami.
Those with family members who may have been in the building at the time of its collapse are asked to call 305-614-1819. More information here.
Missing woman made ominous call to her son warning of “creaking noises” in the condo on the day prior to the collapse
A woman who is among the 159 missing in the Champlain Tower South collapse made a call to her son the day before the building crumbled complaining that she had been hearing “creaking noises” loud enough to wake her up.
Pablo Rodriguez, the woman’s son, told CNN that he did not think much of the comment, but it has now made him wonder if his mother heard the precursor to the catastrophic collapse.
“It was like a comment that she made offhand, like that’s why she woke up and she wasn’t able to go back to sleep afterwards,” he said. “Now, in hindsight, you always wonder.” Mr Rodriguez’s grandmother is also among the missing. He said he is holding out hope that he’ll see them again.
“You always hold out hope, until you definitively know. But after seeing the video of the collapse, it’s increasingly difficult, because they were in that section that was pancaked in,” he said.
Florida congresswoman says many buildings are built just like Champlain Towers
Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz says many buildings in the Champlain Towers’ area are built “just like” the ones that collapsed.
“This building isn’t unusual,” Ms Wasserman Schultz, who represents the district where the disaster occurred, told CNN. “The whole entire road is dotted up and down the beach in my district with buildings just like it… We have to get to the bottom of this.”
The Democratic representative worries that if the collapse was due to a structural flaw common to other buildings, it might not be an isolated incident.
“We all have to hope it’s a one-off, but I don’t know that it is,” Ms Wasserman Schultz said. “We don’t know. Lots of these buildings are built the same way.”
The congresswoman said she expects to hear from fearful residents in her district.
“I’m waiting for the calls calls that we will inevitably get from constituents: ‘What about my building?’” she said.
Biden offered more federal aid in his call with Florida governor, White House says
In his phone call with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, President Biden offered additional federal support for the rescue effort in Surfside, according to an official readout of the call.
“The President said his administration stands ready to provide additional resources and assistance that state and local officials need,” the White House said in a statement.
Mr Biden had already signed a declaration of emergency in Miami-Dade, which authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with the rescue and relief effort after a residential building there partially collapsed.
The president also expressed his personal sympathies over the incident.
“The President also expressed his condolences to the Governor and the people of the Surfside community, sharing his grief for the families who lost loved ones in this devastating tragedy and for the families who are waiting in anguish as search and rescue efforts continue,” the White House said.
FEMA begins sending resources to Surfside, Florida
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending search crews, technicians, and other staff to help with the rescue effort in Surfside, Florida.
“We are sending technical experts & staff to support Miami, FL during their recovery efforts following the tragic Surfside Building Collapse,” the agency announced on Twitter. “Three Urban Search & Rescue teams are also ready to help to the city and state.”
By signing a declaration of emergency on Thursday, President Biden authorized FEMA to coordinate the relief effort in Surfside, where the Champlain Towers apartment complex partially collapsed.
Israeli government offers to help with disaster relief in Surfside
The Israeli government has offered to help with the rescue and relief effort in Surfside, Florida.
“Our hearts are with the Jewish community in Miami,” Yair Lapid, Israel’s new foreign minister, tweeted on Friday, offering the resources of the Israeli consulate in Miami and the Israel Foreign Ministry.
“I am following the situation closely and spoke to our Consul General @ElbazStarinsky who is at the scene,” he added. “The @IsraelMFA will do everything it can to support our team on the ground and all those affected by this tragedy.”
Florida senator Rick Scott also said he’d spoken to Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, Israel’s consul general in Miami, who also offered to help.
“The Israeli Consulate in Miami and @ElbazStarinsky have offered significant resources and personnel including engineers, disaster experts and search and rescue equipment,” Senator Scott tweeted. “We must immediately utilize every tool available to rescue those still missing.”
Resident sues condo association for $5 million, saying collapse ‘could have been prevented’
A surviving tenant of the buildings that collapsed in Surfside, Florida has filed the first lawsuit in the wake of the disaster.
Manuel Drezner, who owns a unit in the apartment complex, is suing the Champlain Tower South Condominium Association for $5 million. He is applying for class-action status for the lawsuit.
According to Mr Drezner, the condo association knew repairs to the building were needed but failed to implement them.
“Defendant could have prevented the collapse of Champlain Towers south through the exercise of ordinary care, safety measures, and oversight,” the lawsuit says.
Synagogue near collapsed building overflows with supplies and volunteers
An Orthodox synagogue near the collapsed Champlain Towers has had to start redirecting supplies after the structure became literally overloaded with donations.
The New York Times has reported that a 12-foot pile of pillows, thousands of bottles of water, countless shaving and hygiene products, and other supplies donated by the community had filled the building to capacity.
Dozens of volunteers worked to sort out the items, which were provided for tenants left homeless by the disaster.
“Something like this happens in the community and you just have to rise up and help,” a volunteer named Ilene Weinkle told the Times.
The synagogue, known as The Shul, eventually started redirecting the supplies to a local food bank, which quickly filled up as well.
Medical examiner officially identifies mother killed in building collapse
The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department has officially identified one of the victims killed in the collapse of Champlain Tower South.
The deceased is Stacie Fang, 54, whose death was announced earlier today by her family.
Ms Fang was the mother of Jonah Handler, 15, who was seen being pulled from the rubble in a viral video.
Lawyer from resident’s 2015 lawsuit says building had ‘significant corrosion’
A lawyer who represented a Champlain Towers resident in 2015 says the building had “significant corrosion,” but complaints about it seemed to go unaddressed by the building’s management.
“My experience with this building is that it seems that a lot of the structural components in 2015 were corroded, which has been brought to the attention of the board and management but may have fallen on deaf ears,” attorney Daniel Wagner told Newsweek.
In the 2015 lawsuit, Mr Wagner’s client complained that water was coming in through one of the walls of her apartment. Mr Wagner says the building never properly repaired it, and the corrosion continued for years.
“Even as recent as April 2021,” he said, “significant corrosion of the steel, expansion and cracking of the concrete and breaking of the stucco was observed and the board of the directors was notified accordingly by the residents.”
Mr Wagner emphasized that he does not know if this corrosion is related to the collapse of the building. No official cause has been announced, and local authorities have said the disaster will be investigated.
Engineer hired to investigate disaster is ‘bewildered’ by collapse
Structural engineer John Pistorino has been hired to investigate the collapse of Champlain Towers South, but right now he says he has no idea what happened.
“It’s unexplainable. I’m bewildered,” Mr Pistorino told WPLG. “Concrete gives you a warning. It gives you a warning. It doesn’t fail that fast.”
Mr Pistorino, who’s been an engineer for 54 years, wrote the 40-year recertification process for buildings in Miami-Dade County – a process that Champlain Towers was right in the middle of when it collapsed.
Mr Pistorino says he’s watched the video of the implosion about a hundred times.
“The only other time I’ve seen something that dramatic, that quick was when we were imploding, demolishing buildings on purpose,” he told the station.
Mr Pistorino says Champlain Towers asked him to inspect the building in 2019 for its recertification, but balked at his firm’s price.
“They basically said we were too expensive, and so we didn't go forward with it,” Mr Pistorino told WFLX.
Instead, the building went with Morabito Consultants, which was just getting started on the inspections when the towers came crumbling down.
The firm’s president, Frank Morabito, declined WFLX’s request for comment.
“I am sorry, but we cannot comment at this time as our investigation is ongoing,” he told the station.
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