South Florida officials have fast-tracked demolition of the still-standing section of the Champlain Towers South condominium building for fear that the approaching Tropical Storm Elsa could produce winds capable of toppling the structure catastrophically.
The news emerged during a press conference as Miami Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced that search and rescue teams had recovered another two bodies, bringing the total to 24. Officials had yet to account for 124 people believed to have been in the 12-story tower when it collapsed on June 24.
Cava earlier in the week had warned that it might take weeks to carefully deconstruct the section but, fearful of Elsa’s approach, engineers with the state Department of Transportation recommended quicker action.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said the process could take as little as 36 hours.
“Taking the building down, given the fact that the storm is coming and given the fact that you were going to have to do this anyways, is the prudent thing to do. And I think it will lead to the course of action that most minimally disrupts the rescue efforts,” he said.
The state will pick up the costs, DeSantis said.
“At the end of the day, that building is too unsafe to let people go back in. I know there are a lot of people who were able to get out, fortunately, who have things there. We’re very sensitive to that. But I don’t think there’s any way you could let somebody go up in that building, given the shape that it’s in now,” he said.
“The fear was that the hurricane may take the building down for us, and take it down in the wrong direction — on top of the pile where we have victims,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said.
Cava, who made the decision to bring the structure down, said the county already has a signed contract to make it happen.
She met with family members Saturday morning and informed them of the decision. Some have expressed concern about pets left being in the building, but three searches have failed to find any, Cava said.
Engineers were still planning the process and haven’t settled on an exact time yet, she said.
“The proposal that is here now, this proposed demolition, is a very narrow footprint, so we’re not looking at major impacts to the area or additional evacuations. Again, we are still in the due-diligence process and we will get back to you as soon as we have the exact details.”
With the Surfside structure down, search and rescue workers could remain on the site even if the wind picks up, DeSantis said.
“If they are out there, though, and you start to get some of these gusts with that structure there, that would be a real, real hazard and, I would imagine, it would likely cause them to do a work stoppage,” he continued.
“We have a building here in Surfside that is tottering, it is structurally unsound, and although the eye of the storm is not likely to pass over this direction, you could feel gusts in this area. We don’t know. It’s definitely a possibility,” DeSantis said.
Following the collapse, Cava ordered audits of buildings nearing their mandatory 40-year inspections. On Friday, inspectors declared that a condo complex in North Miami Beach was at danger of collapse and ordered it evacuated, according to news reports.
Officials in Key Biscayne played down the danger at another structure after a TikTok video appeared to show cracked concrete in the garage, again according to news reports. Officials concluded the apparent problem represented cosmetic damage to an expansion joint.
In other updates from the Florida Division of Emergency Management:
“Task Forces from Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have been deployed to Surfside to ensure additional first responders are available in the event of severe weather in Florida.”
“In collaboration with FDEM, Royal Caribbean Group docked Royal Caribbean International’s Explorer of the Seas at PortMiami to provide free housing and support for the tireless efforts of search and rescue teams working at the Surfside Building Collapse.”
The post Elsa forces officials' hand: Explosive charge will bring down still-standing remnant of Surfside condo first appeared on Daily Florida Press.
from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/elsa-forces-officials-hand-explosive-charge-will-bring-down-still-standing-remnant-of-surfside-condo/
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