Tag Archives: Surfside

Search For Survivors Ends In Surfside Tower Collapse

The Miami Herald reports: As the 14th day of searching came to a close, families and loved ones were informed during a private briefing that the search and rescue effort for live victims in the rubble that was once Champlain Towers South is coming to an end. Fire authorities said Wednesday there is no longer hope that there are any …

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Surfside Condo Collapse Death Toll Rises To 46 [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: The search for victims of the collapse of a Miami-area high-rise condominium reached its 14th day on Wednesday, as workers uncovered 10 more bodies from the rubble and officials sounded more and more grim about the prospects of finding anyone alive. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah broke the discovery of the additional bodies and human …

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Demolition Brings Down Remaining Part Of FL Tower

Miami’s NBC News affiliate reports: The remaining portion of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside was demolished Sunday night. The structure came down at about 10:30 p.m., and before 11:30 p.m., rescuers were given an all-clear to resume their search, according to Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Officials had given a window of the demolition occurring between 10 …

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Hurricane Center: Elsa On Path Hit FL Tomorrow Night

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: Tropical Storm Elsa is on a path to hit southwestern Florida and the Florida Keys by late Monday, though all of South Florida will likely be subjected to rain bands, sustained tropical-storm-force gusts and the potential for a few tornadoes, the National Hurricane Center said. Tropical-storm-force winds are most likely to arrive in the Keys …

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Tower Demolition Team Readies For Monday Implosion

Yesterday it was announced that demolishing the still standing portion of the Surfside tower would take place today. Now they’re saying “Monday at the earliest.” The Miami Herald reports: The demolition company was identified as CDI Controlled Demolition Inc., of Phoenix, Maryland. It is being sub-contracted through BG Group, the Delray Beach demolition company hired by the Florida Department of …

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Surfside Tower Demolition To Take Place Tomorrow

The Associated Press reports: A top Miami-Dade fire official on Saturday told family members of people missing in the rubble of a collapsed condo building that demolition workers planned to bring down the remainder of the building on Sunday. Worries have intensified over the past week that the damaged structure could come tumbling down on its own, endangering the crews …

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Six Firefighters Test COVID+ At Surfside Collapse Site

Miami’s CBS News affiliate reports: COVID has reared its ugly head once again, this time at the search site of the Surfside collapsed condo. Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said Friday, at least 6 firefighters from Florida, but outside of Miami-Dade, tested positive for COVID-19. The task force that contained the positive COVID-19 has been “demobilized,” according to the chief, …

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Mayor Signs Order To Demolish Rest Of Florida Tower

USA Today reports: Engineers were evaluating options Friday for demolishing the remaining portion of a condo building that partially collapsed outside Miami last week, leaving 22 people dead and 126 unaccounted for. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Friday officials have had “a couple of meetings” with engineers, who are “meeting regularly” to determine what the process would look …

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Surfside Search Halted Amid Fear Of Further Collapse

The Miami Herald reports: Exactly one week after the Champlain Towers South building collapsed, rescue crews early Thursday stopped work amid concerns that the remaining structure could topple. Also, South Florida is bracing for the possible arrival of a tropical storm later in the week that could affect the site. The new challenges arose Thursday as President Joe Biden prepares …

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Video Shows Gushing Water Before FL Tower Collapse

ABC News reports: Video recorded at Champlain Tower South minutes before its deadly collapse Thursday appears to show water pouring out of a ceiling in a parking garage and rubble on the ground, ABC News has confirmed. Adriana Sarmiento told ABC News that she and her husband were on vacation and swimming in the pool at the nearby Bluegreen Vacations …

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Trump Refuses Plea From DeSantis To Postpone FL Rally

Yahoo News reports: Former President Donald Trump is rejecting pleas from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to postpone a campaign-style rally this weekend some 200 miles from the Miami suburb where an international search-and-rescue mission is excavating bodies from the site of a collapsed seaside condominium. DeSantis’s office has “made a direct plea” to the former president’s team, calling on it …

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Grand Jury To Investigate Surfside Condo Collapse

The Washington Post reports: Miami’s top prosecutor pledged Tuesday to have a grand jury examine last week’s collapse of an oceanfront high-rise, suggesting that even as the search continues for survivors, the focus was quickly shifting to accountability for a disaster likely to go down as one of the country’s worst. The announcement by Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle …

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Biden And First Lady To Visit Site Of Condo Collapse

NPR reports: The White House says President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Florida Thursday to view first hand the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium. Asked by reporters if he planned to visit Surfside, Biden said, “Yes I hope so, as soon as we can. Maybe as early as Thursday.” The White House issued a …

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April Letter Warned Tower Damage Was Getting Worse

USA Today reports: An April letter sent from the president of the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association said that damage to the doomed building’s basement garage had “gotten significantly worse” since an inspection about two and a half years earlier and that deterioration of the building’s concrete was “accelerating.” The letter also suggested that millions of dollars in needed repairs …

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Condo Collapse Likely Started In Parking Garage

The New York Times reports: The investigation into what may be the deadliest accidental building collapse in American history has just begun, but experts who have examined video footage of the disaster outside Miami are focusing on a spot in the lowest part of the condominium complex — possibly in or below the underground parking garage — where an initial …

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Surfside Condo Collapse Death Toll Rises To Nine

Miami’s CBS News affiliate reports: There are now nine confirmed deaths in the Champlain Towers South condo collapse in Surfside. On Sunday, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said progress was made overnight in the search and rescue mission. “We are cutting a deep trench to assists us. It is now 125 feet in length into the pile. It is 20 …

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Miami-Dade Mayor Orders Audit Of Older Buildings

CBS News reports: The Mayor of Miami-Dade County ordered an audit of all buildings in the county at the 40-year point and beyond in the wake of the collapse of 12-story building in Surfside. The death toll remains at four, with 159 people unaccounted for. Authorities said another 127 people have been accounted for in the collapse. On Saturday, Mayor …

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2018 Engineering Report Warned About Surfside Tower

The Washington Post reports: Engineers who evaluated the South Florida condo that partially collapsed Thursday, leaving dozens trapped under the rubble, warned in a 2018 report of a “major error” in the construction’s original development. The report – released late Friday by officials in Surfside, Fla., – notes that the building’s reinforced concrete slab is not sloped to drain. As …

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Charlie Kirk Claims Surfside Was “Domestic Terrorism”

Mediaite reports: Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk claimed in a Friday tweet that “several architects” believe the recent building collapse in Surfside, FL was an act of “domestic terrorism.” Authorities have yet to give an update on the reason for the collapse, but during a Thursday news conference, the county’s mayor, Daniella Levine Cava (D), said it was a …

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Surfside Death Toll Rises To Four As Digging Continues

The Miami Herald reports: The arduous and heartbreaking task of recovering the bodies of victims at the site of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo began overnight and continued into a somber Friday morning in Surfside. Shortly before 7:45 Friday morning, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said authorities have now confirmed four deaths. No additional survivors had been …

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