SURFSIDE, Fla. — A group of structural engineers worked to make a recommendation Thursday about what needed to be done to improve the safety of the search-and-rescue operation in Miami-Dade County’s town of Surfside.
Search-and-rescue teams suspended work at Champlain Towers South at 2:11 a.m., Thursday, after monitors alerted engineers to shifts in what is left of the L-shaped building that partially collapsed last week.
The search-and-rescue operation resumed about 4:45 p.m., just after President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden departed, but officials said the suspension had nothing to do with their visit. Officials feared the structure was threatening to fall down on rescuers.
Engineers considered the pros and cons of demolishing what is left standing of the southern section of the 12-story building. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava will make a decision with the help of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Levine Cava counts with the recommendations of Scott Nacheman, a structures specialist with FEMA’s urban search and rescue. The engineer has experience as a firefighter and as a forensic architect. He said the demolition will slow the search-and-rescue efforts at first, but it will allow more rescue personnel to come in afterward, therefore speeding up the effort.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said the town was helping the team to prepare for the demolition.
“Once the decision is made I didn’t want there to be like another day setting up the demolition if that was the decision, so I directed my building official to start talking to those demolition companies,” Burkett said.
The oceanside property at 8777 Collins Ave., is across the street from Veterans Park, a space that can be useful if there was a demolition. The official death toll stands at 18, and 145 people remain unaccounted for, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky told reporters Thursday morning there were additional concerns for building stability. The concrete slabs of the southern part of the 12-story building that didn’t collapse were moving.
Comisky said there was also up to a foot of movement in a large hanging column. The shifts threatened support columns in the underground parking garage. The more than 300 people who have been working on the operation were at risk.
Crews first accessed the compact mountain of pancaked concrete through the garage hours after the collapse. The rescue teams had been tunneling through in groups of 10 to 12. They worked through intermittent rain and spontaneous fires.
The work with heavy equipment also came to a halt. A team of structural engineers was assessing the situation.
With Tropical Storm Elena approaching, the safety plans were quickly changing. After the search-and-rescue mission resumed, Levine Cava said there was a contingency plan in place.
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Coverage on Thursday
- Biden in Surfside: We’ll ‘pick up 100% of the cost’
- ‘Waiting is unbearable’: Biden consoles Surfside families
- Death toll rises to 18 in Surfside, rescue crews pause operations due to safety concerns relating to standing structure
- Vanderbilt senior identified as Surfside condo collapse victim
- Photographer, daughter and three other family members all missing in collapse
- Safety concerns halt rescue efforts at condo collapse site
Coverage on June 30
- Beloved ‘Dos Elenas’ legacy after Surfside tragedy will be legal reform
- Family of 4 confirmed to be among victims of Surfside building collapse
- Death toll rises in Surfside; more than 140 unaccounted for
- Rubble from Surfside condo brought to grassy field in Golden Glades’
- Ex-official who said Surfside condo was sound leaves new job
- Nonstop search efforts at Surfside building collapse site can take its toll on rescue workers
- Missing woman made phone call to her husband as Surfside condo collapsed
- Mother of North Bay Village police chief confirmed dead following Surfside collapse
- Remarkable stories of Surfside condo residents who survived by chance
- Family of missing woman files wrongful death lawsuit against Champlain Towers South Condo Association
Coverage on June 29
- ‘Something inside me said run’: Surfside survivor describes escaping as building came down
- Surfside resident lucky to be alive after spending night with girlfriend
- Champlain condo associations try to appease sister towers residents, speed up repairs
- Condominium law experts say tragedy will prompt more accountability
- Miami-Dade building audit already spotting issues
- Army of volunteers showers first responders with food, water
- Rescuers battle obstacles during their search in Surfside
- Recently married lawyer and husband missing in collapse
- Renowned civil engineer hired to investigate
- Families of Surfside victims keep hope alive by visiting condo and unifying in Bal Harbour
- Prosecutors will ask grand jury to probe building collapse
- ‘Our backyard’: Tragedy strikes home for Miami-Dade rescuers
- Biden to visit Florida building collapse on Thursday
- In collapsed building’s twin, most residents are staying put
- Surfside realtor says deadly building collapse ‘hasn’t slowed down the demand’ on beachside condos
- Beachside vigil held for victims and families of Surfside building collapse
Coverage on June 28
- Another body pulled from rubble in Surfside, bringing the total confirmed dead to 10
- Residential property audit announced by Miami-Dade mayor already underway
- Buses take loved ones of missing Surfside residents to collapse site
- 8 victims now identified following Surfside building collapse
- 88-year-old Surfside condo survivor remembers those who helped her to safety
- ‘Don’t give up hope,’ local leaders tell families of Surfside missing
- Watch out for Surfside charity scams and price gouging
- Despite warning, town deemed condo building in ‘good shape’
- Mayor: Child alone outside collapse site brings tragedy home
- Who are they? Stories of the victims of Surfside collapse
- What caused Surfside collapse? Engineer offers insight
- ‘I will miss you all my life:’ Father pens beautiful note to late son who died in the Surfside condo collapse
- Memorials grow in Surfside as desperate search for victims continues into fifth day
- Surfside collapse is ‘wake-up call,’ DeSantis says as questions remain about cause of devastating collapse
Coverage on June 27
- State fire marshal provides insight into efforts to locate victims while fighting fire
- Team of national scientists to visit Surfside collapse site
- Teams use sonar devices, lasers to aid in Surfside rescue
- Several families belonging to Miami Beach church remain missing, parishioners gather to pray and hope
- Neighboring residents express concern as investigation into Champlain Towers South collapse continues
- Buses take loved ones of missing Surfside residents to collapse site
- Remembering the dead and missing
- Search-and-rescue teams tunnel through pancaked concrete 3 days after building collapse
Coverage on June 26
- Relative of Surfside building collapse victim lashes out at DeSantis for not ‘doing enough’
- Surfside building collapse: Four out of 5 dead identified; 156 remain unaccounted for
- Missing grandparents’ landline calling from Champlain Towers South condo, family says
- Surfside tower had ‘major structural damage’ — but enough to cause a collapse?
- North Bay Village police chief’s mother has been unaccounted for since Surfside building collapse
- ‘The hope is that there are going to be miracles,’ relative of Surfside building collapse victims says
- Fire burning beneath rubble of collapsed Surfside condo hindering rescue efforts
- Surfside building collapse first responders having difficulty locating victims in massive debris pile
- Miami-Dade Mayor: ‘I’m hopeful this will be the day we have a breakthrough’
- Surfside mayor expresses concern over Champlain South’s identical sister building
- Traffic changes in Surfside area as rescue efforts continue following deadly building collapse
Coverage on June 25
- Champlain Towers South resident survives by climbing through rubble in the dark with her dog
- Teen identified after being pulled from rubble in Surfside, family confirms mother is among those dead
- Man who lives in condo looks out, tells wife ‘My parents’ apartment isn’t there’
- Surfside collapse: Family reunification center moving from community space to hotel
- First lawsuit filed after partial building collapse in Surfside
- Smoke billows out from Champlain Towers South collapse site
- Surfside officials discuss aftermath of building collapse: ‘Terrible tragedy’ to change recertification
- Israel sends help to Surfside’s Jewish community
- Amid anguish after building collapse, memorial, prayer circle help some cope with Surfside tragedy
Coverage on June 24
- Officials fear there will be many casualties after Surfside building ‘pancaked’ during collapse
- Surveillance video captures eerie moments as part of Surfside condo crashes down
- Man says all he saw was ‘white clouds of dust’
- Father remains missing; wife and daughter hospitalized after Surfside building collapse
- Surfside condo that collapsed was going through a recertification process
- After Surfside collapse do you need to worry about your building?
- Officials fear there will be many casualties after Surfside building ‘pancaked’ during collapse
- Geologist warned of instability in Surfside
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