Miami area condo collapse

[PollyannaMom]

Officials say the operation remains a search and rescue effort, but it's been two weeks and they have not found anyone alive since the first few minutes. The chances of anyone alive in the rubble appear to be very slim.

It's sad, but I agree. I haven't expected them to actually find survivors in quite a while now.

 

[RedAngie]

I expected a survivor or two up to about a week or so but unfortunately not any longer.

 

[bcla]

It's sad, but I agree. I haven't expected them to actually find survivors in quite a while now.

Unfortunately it would have required being extremely lucky to have survived the original collapse. I suppose that after this much time that someone trapped in a relatively protected area might have been able to find food and some sort of water source. It seemed almost a miracle that anyone survived, although that would most likely be near the edge of the collapsed area.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

It has to be so much harder on the workers as well not having any positive moments this whole time

 

[PlainJane]

10 more victims were recovered overnight, raising the total to 46. The number of missing has been reduced to 94.

Officials say the operation remains a search and rescue effort, but it's been two weeks and they have not found anyone alive since the first few minutes. The chances of anyone alive in the rubble appear to be very slim.

Thank you for the continued updates.

 

[JimMIA]

Unfortunately it would have required being extremely lucky to have survived the original collapse. I suppose that after this much time that someone trapped in a relatively protected area might have been able to find food and some sort of water source. It seemed almost a miracle that anyone survived, although that would most likely be near the edge of the collapsed area.

Agree. Every time they had Colonel Vach from the Israeli team for an interview he talked about how "tight" the rubble was, and that they were not finding the voids they expected to find where people could survive.

In another disaster (I think in Mexico), rescuers found a person alive after 27 days in the rubble, but this is a very different situation.

AFIK, there were 120-130 people who either escaped on their own or were pulled off balconies by firefighters. I've only heard of 4 people rescued from the wreckage -- a teenaged girl and her mother, and a teenaged boy and his mother. The boy's mother died later at the hospital.

 

[bcla]

In another disaster (I think in Mexico), rescuers found a person alive after 27 days in the rubble, but this is a very different situation.

Isn't that typically in smaller buildings? A 13 story concrete and steel structure pancaking is certainly different than a 4 store wood-frame building collapsing. Not sure which event you're referring to. However, Mexico City has gone through several severe earthquakes over the years, and I've heard of kids who survived in schools that weren't likely going to be the height of a condo.

When I was in school, we ran earthquake duck and cover drills quite often. Not just assembling outside, but learning how to duck under a table or desk to reduce the chance of injury from falling debris (like light standards) or even a roof collapse.

 

[Lynne G]

10 more found, up to 46 now. So sad. And I don’t think that number is the last we will see. I feel for all those who lost a loved one. Horrible to hear of so many.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Six engineering experts interviewed by the Miami Herald said that, based on the publicly available evidence, it appeared that a structural column or concrete slab beneath the pool deck likely gave way first on June 24, causing the deck to collapse into the garage below. That may have formed a crater beneath the bulky midsection of the tower, which then caved in on itself, the experts said.

 

[JimMIA]

The operation is transitioning to a recovery effort at 7 PM this evening. Workers will observe a moment of silence to mark the transition.

No additional recoveries have been announced. At last count, there were 46 known dead and 94 missing -- so the final death toll will probably be +/-140. It could be a few more than that, or a few less.

And with that sad news, I am going to stop my daily updates unless there is some miracle. Again, thanks to @bcla for starting the thread and to all who have contributed.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Last update is now 54 victims found, 86 unaccounted for.

www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/florida-condo-building-collapse-surfside-update-watch-live-stream-today-2021-07-07/

 

[JimMIA]

Here's part of the backstory -- an interview with Broward Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Nichole Notte, who is part of Florida Task Force 2 and has been at the Surfside site since the beginning. She's talking about the toll on the rescuers.

 

[DisneyOma]

I think it'd be risky to give someone permission to go into a dangerous situation like that, even if they wanted to. I can imagine if the worst happened, how quickly their families would be filing lawsuits. Even if they signed some kind of waiver, the family could claim their loved one was not in a rational state of mind at the time due to grief or whatever. People ruin everything.

The risk is not lawsuits. Allowing someone to enter an unsafe building would also put rescuer lives at risk.

If a person were allowed to enter -- and either got in trouble or didn't come out when expected -- rescuers would have to go into the building and search for them.

There is no way rescuers would just say, "Oh well...we told them not to go back in, and we have this waiver signed!"

They would be forced to go in, and that is an unacceptable risk to any emergency manager.

But they aren’t just potentially risking their lives. What if a volunteer animal rescuer goes in there and gets in trouble? Now someone has to go in and try to rescue that person.

Trust me, I love animals, but I don’t think others peoples’ lives should be put at risk to save them. I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

So, according to all above, people should not be allowed to risk their own lives to rescue another living thing if it's not a **** sapien, but what about the stupid things some people do that put their own lives at risk for nothing but an adrenaline rush? Should we let them just die where they land if they get injured, since it would put the rescuers at risk to save them?

 

[JimMIA]

So, according to all above, people should not be allowed to risk their own lives to rescue another living thing if it's not a **** sapien, but what about the stupid things some people do that put their own lives at risk for nothing but an adrenaline rush? Should we let them just die where they land if they get injured, since it would put the rescuers at risk to save them?

There is a big difference between an individual deciding to do something stupid and dangerous and authorities opening up a closed disaster area for similar behavior. Sometimes authorities have to impose sound judgement over individual wishes.

Also, just FYI, very often authorities decline to attempt rescue of humans because it poses too much risk. That is not the least bit unusual.

In fact, they did it in this same situation -- they did NOT search 2/3 of the rubble for humans because is was too unsafe.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

My heart breaks for the families that lost their loved ones or still don't have answers.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Toll at 78 now, 62 still missing.

www.cnbc.com/2021/07/09/florida-condo-collapse-14-more-bodies-recovered-death-toll-rises-to-78.html

 

[Disneyfan754321]

The reason why they have found more bodies in the last few days is..
They could not work in these areas untill after the building was imploded for safety reasons.
The condos bedrooms were on the Interior and the part they were searching before was the part that was closest to the ocean so it was mostly living room areas and such.
That's what the news stations are reporting here in south florida

 

[Julie's Haircut]

It wasn’t a real comment. It was pot stirring. We all understand losing a loved one. (And sorry for your loss. I had one - well, three - recently, too.)

I admit I like to at times but I assure you this wasn't one of them. People died and at the time I posted there was virtually no hope of finding any survivors. But there were reports of animals still alive and supposedly the authorities were going to "just let them perish." I understand why it was too risky to allow a rescue attempt for them. That doesn't mean I couldn't be upset over the situation.

Now it appears that animals WERE rescued before the demolition, although I'm sure some died in the original collapse or were overlooked during the search.

I'm guessing the poster was responding/reacting to another poster who has said multiple times that there would not be any effort made to look for or rescue live pets...and it seemed to be said with authority, asif they knew for 100% fact there would be no effort made...it appears that poster was wrong, but as a reader it was certainly confusing and I can only assume that's where the posters thoughts were. I'm sure all grieve for the humans that have perished as well as any pets who will perish tomorrow or whenever the building is destroyed.

Thank you. You understand my viewpoint exactly.

Six engineering experts interviewed by the Miami Herald said that, based on the publicly available evidence, it appeared that a structural column or concrete slab beneath the pool deck likely gave way first on June 24, causing the deck to collapse into the garage below. That may have formed a crater beneath the bulky midsection of the tower, which then caved in on itself, the experts said.

My brother is a (retired) civil engineer and this was his opinion as well.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Perhaps you need some perspective like this.

Perhaps you should mourn your way and butt out while I mourn my way.

 

[JaxDad]

https://nypost.com/2021/07/09/cat-missing-in-florida-condo-collapse-found-alive/