On June 24, 2021, at approximately 1:25 a.m. EDT, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida partially collapsed leaving a death toll of 36, with that number still rising as search and rescue efforts are still in place.
While the cause of the building's partial collapse is still unknown, a 2018 structural field survey report raised concerns about structural damage to a slab of concrete just below the pool deck of the building as well as cracking located in the parking garage which raises concerns about the numerous other high rise condominiums throughout Miami suburbs.
Charles Burkett, mayor of Surfside, said Tuesday that a review is being conducted into Champlain Towers North, the fallen 12-story condo tower’s sister complex, which is still standing near the rubble.
Burkett also told reporters Towers North is “essentially the same building, built by the same developer at the same time, with the same plans, probably with the same materials” as the Towers South building.
Officials are working with the Champlain Towers North condominium board to measure the building’s risk of repeating the collapse.
“We’re going to do everything we can,” Burkett said, “to look at those structural systems including ground penetrating radar, the columns, the beams, the slabs, and try to get our arms around what may be happening, what did happen.”
Still, Burkett says he’s still uneasy about the building’s integrity. “We have some concerns, not just some, but deep concerns about that building especially given that we don’t know what has happened there, but our engineer is actively working on it, as our town official is.”
As the days go on, city officials and locals alike are simply trying to make sense of this terrible tragedy.
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