A county attorney said in a court filing late Friday that the remaining portion of the residential building that partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, is not structurally sound and is behaving in ways that indicate it may collapse.
Due to the building’s instability and a worsening hurricane, which is currently in the Caribbean and is expected to hit Florida early next week, search and rescue crews were in “immediate danger,” according to David Murray, the attorney for Miami-Dade County.
“An uncontrolled collapse of the structure — which is surrounded by residential property, and which is currently being worked and secured by hundreds of fire rescue personnel, police officers, and other government employees — poses significant risk to human life and property,” Murray wrote in the filing.
In the early hours of June 24, nearly 55 of the 136 units of the Champlain Towers South, located just north of Miami Beach, collapsed. According to Miami-Dade County, 22 people have died as a result of the deadly collapse, with 126 still missing as of Friday. Daniella Levine Cava expressed herself. She said two bodies were discovered in the rubble on Friday.
According to Murray’s court filing, the remaining portion of the building’s collapse “will cause the release of hazardous household materials, particulate matter, and pose a fire risk.”
The tower will be demolished “in the interest of public health and safety,” according to an emergency order signed by Levine Cava on Friday.
The mayor said at a press conference that the demolition would not take place until after the hurricane passed through the area, but that it would most likely take weeks “based on the recommendations of engineers.”
According to CNN’s Levine Cava, it’s too early to say whether Surfside is in danger from Hurricane Elsa, but preparations have begun.
“We have started that process and urged everyone to make the necessary hurricane preparations,” Levine Cava said. “And we’ll be monitoring the storm so that if it seems that the wind strength will be too high for us to safely continue to search and rescue, we’ll have to put a pause.”
The death of a child discovered in the rubble was confirmed by the Miami Department of Fire and Rescue on Friday.
“Our hearts and prayers are with the families affected by this horrific tragedy. We can confirm that a member of our City of Miami Fire Department family has lost his 7-year-old daughter in the collapse,” Fire Chief Joseph Zahralban said in a statement.
The girl’s body was recovered by members of Florida Task Force 2’s Urban Search and Rescue Team, according to Zahralban.
Officials said the girl’s father did not find her body, but that other team members alerted him Thursday night. The family requested that the girl’s name not be made public.
The names of three people who died in the collapse were released by officials on Friday. Over the last two days, Bonnie Epstein, 56, Claudio Bonnefoy, 85, and Maria Obias-Bonnefoy, 69, have been found.
Meanwhile, the city’s actions are receiving renewed attention in the wake of increased scrutiny of the condo board and its response to a 2018 report citing “major structural damage.”
Meanwhile, the city’s actions are receiving renewed attention in the wake of increased scrutiny of the condo board and its response to a 2018 report citing “major structural damage.”
Despite receiving a report warning of “major structural damage,” Rosendo “Ross” Prieto, Surfside’s former building official, assured residents of Champlain Towers South that their building was “in very good shape” in November 2018.
From about 2007 to 2013, he worked as a senior building inspector for the city of Miami Beach. Prieto’s boss expressed his displeasure with Prieto’s tardiness in an email sent in April 2012.
“[I] am having problems with him for coming late, not calling on time when sick, forgetting to punch in or out, not answering the phone, etc. I suggest to have a meeting with him to establish disciplinary actions,” the email stated, noting that Prieto missed inspections that day.
Prieto had earlier that afternoon emailed his boss, saying he had “been fighting a sinus infection for almost a year” and “had a bad reaction to [his] medications.”
He was suspended a few weeks later after missing work twice in a 12-month period without permission from his boss. According to documents first reported by The New York Times, he was absent an excessive number of days and arrived late 22 times in a one-year period, according to a 2013 performance review.
According to a memo from Prieto’s first job in Miami Beach in 2007, he brought “extensive industry experience and education” to the position. According to a city spokesperson, he left the job in good standing.
