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On July 2, 2021, search and rescue crews look for survivors in the ruins of the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida. Getty Images | Giorgio Viera | AFP Search-and-rescue efforts at the partially collapsed condominium tower in Surfside, Florida, came to a halt on Saturday as authorities moved to raze the rest of the complex in a controlled demolition before Tropical Storm Elsa threatens the unstable structure. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press conference that operations were momentarily halted at 4:00 p.m. ET Saturday owing to demolition preparations, which included drilling into weak columns. Once the remaining portion of the building is dismantled, the search can resume. “We’re moving as swiftly as we can,” Levine Cava said late Saturday night. “It is our sincere hope that this can be completed safely before the storm so that we may direct the demolition,” the mayor said early Saturday. “This demolition would protect and preserve evidence while yet allowing maximal search-and-rescue activity to take place.” As of Saturday, the death toll from the collapsed building had risen to 24, with 121 people still missing. Since the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South, a 12-story condominium built in 1981, on June 24, no one has been recovered. Once the final plan is in place, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says the structure can be demolished in 36 hours, while Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett says it may happen as soon as Sunday. “The concern was that the hurricane would take down the building for us, and take it down in the opposite direction on top of the pile where we had victims,” Burkett said, referring to Elsa, which was downgraded to a tropical storm on Saturday. On Saturday morning, Levine Cava signed a local state of emergency for Elsa. “Out of an abundance of caution,” she said at the meeting, “we’re ensuring we’re mobilizing whatever we need in the county to prepare for any possible repercussions.” Elsa is expected to make landfall as a tropical storm near Florida by Tuesday morning, while some forecasts predict it may make landfall in the Gulf of Mexico or along the Atlantic Coast. In this handout image from July 2, 2021, search and rescue professionals work at the site of a collapsed Florida condominium complex in Surfside, Miami, United States. REUTERS | MIAMI DADE FIRE DEPARTMENT The rapid proposal comes only a day after Levine Cava suggested the destruction may take weeks while engineers studied and approved further moves. Officials have restricted access to portions of the construction zone that pose a health and safety risk to the public. However, according to Levine Cava, a demolition expert came forward Friday evening with the experience to move the project along faster than expected. Engineers, as well as state, local, and federal officials, assessed the proposal and concluded that it was the best way forward, according to Levine Cava. “We’re not looking at huge consequences to the surrounding or extra evacuations because this proposed destruction has such a small footprint,” Levine Cava said. “We’re still doing our due diligence.” The decision to demolish the remaining component of the building comes after search-and-rescue activities were delayed for the majority of Thursday due to fears that the remaining structure would collapse, endangering first responders searching the scene. The cause of the fall of the structure is yet unknown. In 2018, nearly three years before the collapse, an engineering firm examined the condo tower and published a report stating that inadequate waterproofing beneath the building’s pool was creating “severe structural deterioration.” “Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will exponentially increase the extent of the concrete deterioration,” the assessment stated. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has initiated a study into the collapse and will offer recommendations on how to make buildings safer. Levine Cava has ordered a 30-day assessment of buildings in Miami-Dade County that are 40 years old or older and have not completed the re-certification process and are five floors or taller. The county is looking into 14 of these structures, as well as 10 that have recently started the recertification process. After an audit and building inspection report identified unsafe structural and electrical concerns, a condo complex in North Miami Beach was closed and more than 300 people were evacuated on Friday./nRead More

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