Earlier this week, disaster struck in Miami-Dade County after a 12-story beachfront condominium partially collapsed. The terrifying incident has resulted in the deaths of at least four people, with a whopping 159 individuals still missing. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has reportedly issued a state of emergency in the county.
As officials in Miami work tirelessly to try and recover the remaining individuals, theories as to what caused the fatal collapse have been swirling around. Atorod Azizinamini, Chair of the FIU College of Engineering and Computing’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, explained to NBC Miami that experts are searching for signs of corrosion, unusual events, and more. According to a 2018 report obtained by TMZ, however, the building was an accident waiting to happen.
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The city of Surfside, which is where the tragic incident occurred, recently released a number of documents related to the building and its architectural history. One report included in the documents from engineering firm Morabito Consultants found “major structural damage” to a concrete structural slab below the building’s pool deck. The waterproofing had been laid flat as opposed to being laid at an angle, which would help drain water from the building.
Morabito Consultants thought this needed to be addressed, something that would require costly and extensive repairs. The engineers predicted that if this issue wasn’t resolved, bad things could come. “The failed waterproofing is causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas,” they wrote.
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They added, “Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially.” Elsewhere, the report also found “abundant cracking and spalling” in the concrete columns, beams, and walls in the parking garage. Additionally, the cracks had allegedly been repaired pretty carelessly.
While there’s no clear correlation as to whether this is what caused the building to collapse, residents may very well feel that way. Biden has already pledged federal help to aid in recovering the remaining victims.
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