- Title: Surfside condo’s neighbors express safety concerns
- Date: 28th June 2021
- Summary: SURFSIDE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 28, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS VIEWS OF COLLAPSED BUILDING WITH CRANES AND WORKERS AS SEEN FROM BOAT BAL HARBOUR, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 28, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) JULIO RUMBAUT, 69-YEAR-OLD MEDIA CONSULTANT AND RESIDENT OF CHAMPLAIN TOWERS EAST, SAYING: "And there were two other gentlemen, young guys who were in the pool of the timeshare and they suddenly felt their pool become like a jacuzzi. They started hearing noises and they saw the bottom floors starting to topple. They had seen a couple of people on the tenth floor in the terrace and they had to tell them "Go back! Go back in!" And they actually saw the people falling down with the terrace. So that's going to be, on young people, on anybody, but it'll mark their lives." SURFSIDE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 27, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BUILDING WITH CRANES (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARIEL ESTEBAN, 46-YEAR-OLD SURFSIDE RESIDENT ORIGINALLY FROM ARGENTINA, SAYING: "They (referring to a family he knows that is missing after the collapse) came (to the U.S.) to get vaccinated over here with COVID going on, and destiny turned out this way. There's going to have to be an in-depth analysis of the collapse because it's serious. We're scared that if this happened nearby, it might happen to us next. They're going to have to check all the buildings." BARRIER AT BEACH IN FOREGROUND WITH CHAMPLAIN TOWERS IN REAR REAR OF CHAMPLAIN TOWERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIANA SRAGOWICZ, AREA RESIDENT, SAYING: "We're not concerned that this will happen anywhere else because it's not something that's ever happened before. I mean, I'm not an expert, but I don't foresee it happening anywhere else. I guess we'll find out what the reasons for the event were eventually in due time, but you know, like most things, it's mostly likely a combination of many things like a perfect storm." CLOSE-UP OF TOP OF DESTROYED BUILDING MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 27, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MARIBEL QUIROZ, WOMAN WHO LIVES IN CATHOLIC RESIDENCE TWO BLOCKS FROM COLLAPSED BUILDING, SAYING: "Of course we're scared of another collapse. What they have to do is check the buildings regularly because they tend to collect water and the humidity will bring them down. We've been told that inspectors are coming Monday to check and we'll have to leave the building, but I hope they check everything because we have to make sure that things are ok if one of those buildings could come down." SURFSIDE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 27, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF COLLAPSED BUILDING BAL HARBOUR, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 28, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) JULIO RUMBAUT, 69-YEAR-OLD RESIDENT OF CHAMPLAIN TOWERS EAST AND MEDIA CONSULTANT, SAYING: "Our building is 400 feet away from the one that collapsed, and it's part of the same group of buildings: the Champlain South, Champlain North, and Champlain East, developed by the same developer. Two in '81 and ours in '94." REPORTER OFF-CAMERA: "What kind of things have you seen in the building and do you have any concerns?" RUMBAUT: "Not real concerns. I'm happy that they're going to do a study this week, an engineering study. The issue is that the engineering study will tell us about our building, but if anything happened in the South building, that would be, that it could spread, well you know, its very scary." SURFSIDE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 28, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ISRAELI SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM ORGANIZING TO HEAD OUT SURFSIDE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 27, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MIAMI DADE COUNTY CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATORS TRUCK AT SCENE OF COLLAPSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SURFSIDE MAYOR CHARLES BURKETT SAYING: "Those fears are not unjustified, you know, buildings just don't fall down in America. This is not a third-world country. Something was very, very wrong in that building, so as a result, I wanted to see those people given a choice. Is it going to fall down too? I think the odds are low, but you know what? You don't take chances like that. I'm not willing to take a chance and I tell you what, I wouldn't be comfortable sleeping in that building until I knew it had been gone up and down, over and above, through and through, with forensic and detailed investigations by engineers, and that's gonna happen on Tuesday." VARIOUS OF COLLAPSED BUILDING BAL HARBOUR, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 28, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) JULIO RUMBAUT, 69-YEAR-OLD RESIDENT OF CHAMPLAIN TOWERS EAST AND MEDIA CONSULTANT, SAYING: "And not just the mayor, you know, the county has ordered inspections of all five-story buildings that are over 40 years or more. My building is 12 stories, it doesn't matter the stories, but it's 24 years old. Same builder, my building should be inspected but even so, in time, they should inspect more buildings without necessarily any arbitrary criteria." SURFSIDE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 27, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RED CROSS TRUCKS FLOWERS AND SIGNS FOR VICTIMS ON GATE WITH VIEW OF COLLAPSED BUILDING AND NEIGHBORING BUILDING IN REAR
- Embargoed: 12th July 2021 23:41
- Keywords: Champlain Towers building collapse structural issues
- Location: BAL HARBOUR, MIAMI BEACH AND SURFSIDE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
- City: BAL HARBOUR, MIAMI BEACH AND SURFSIDE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001EJBEKW7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: As rescue workers pulled a 10th body from the rubble of a Florida condominium tower on Monday (June 28), five days after the 12-story building collapsed, nearby residents expressed growing concern that other buildings were not safe.
The tragedy of the collapse was still imprinted in the mind of resident Julio Rumbaut, who went to the beach immediately after the collapse.
"Two other gentlemen, young guys who were in the pool of the timeshare, and they suddenly felt their pool become like a jacuzzi. They started hearing noises and they saw the bottom floors starting to topple. They had seen a couple of people on the tenth floor in the terrace and they had to tell them "Go back! Go back in!" And they actually saw the people falling down with the terrace," he said.
Forty-six year old Ariel Esteban said he knew a family from his native Argentina that was still missing. He said the catastrophe has led him to ask questions about the other buildings.
"They (referring to a family he knows that is missing after the collapse) came (to the U.S.) to get vaccinated over here with COVID going on, and destiny turned out this way. There's going to have to be an in-depth analysis of the collapse because it's serious. We're scared that if this happened nearby it might happen to us next. They're going to have to check all the buildings," he said.
The cause of the collapse at the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, near Miami, remains under investigation.
A 2018 engineer's report found serious concrete deterioration in the underground parking garage and major damage in a slab beneath the pool deck. The report's author, Frank Morabito, wrote that the deterioration would "expand exponentially" if not repaired.
Ross Prieto, then Surfside's top building official, met residents the following month after reviewing the report and assured them the building was "in very good shape," according to minutes of the meeting released on Monday.
After the meeting, Prieto emailed the town's manager to say it "went very well. The response was very positive from everyone in the room. All main concerns over their forty year recertification process were addressed."
Reuters was unable to reach Prieto, who is no longer employed by Surfside. He told the Miami Herald newspaper he did not remember getting the report.
As investigators look into the collapse, teams include experts sent by Israel and Mexico to assist in the search.
The engineer's report was commissioned in advance of the condo seeking recertification, which is required for buildings 40 years after they are constructed. The tower was built in 1981. An estimate prepared by Morabito Consultants in 2018 put the cost of repairs at $9.1 million, including electrical, plumbing and work on the facade.
Guillermo Olmedillo, Surfside's town manager in 2018, told Reuters he did not recall hearing about structural issues in the tower based on the engineer's report.
Gregg Schlesinger, a lawyer and former general contractor who specializes in construction-failure cases, said it was clear the deficiencies identified in the 2018 report were the main cause of the disaster.
But Donna DiMaggio Berger, a lawyer who works with the condo association, said the issues were typical for older buildings in the area and did not alarm board members, all of whom lived in the tower with their families.
Morabito Consultants said on Saturday that roof repairs were under way at the time of the collapse, but concrete restoration had not yet started.
Rumbaut has been following the news closely.
"Our building is 400 feet away from the one that collapsed, and it's part of the same group of buildings: Champlain South, Champlain North, and Champlain East, developed by the same developer. Two in '81 and ours in '94," he said.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said he understood residents' concerns and he has ordered an investigation of the twin Champlain Tower that didn't collapse.
"Those fears are not unjustified, buildings just don't fall down in America. This is not a third world country. Something was very very wrong in that building, so as a result I wanted to see those people given a choice. Is it going to fall down too? I think the odds are low, but you know what? You don't take chances like that. I'm not willing to take a chance and I tell you what, I wouldn't be comfortable sleeping in that building until I knew it had been gone up and down, over and above, through and through, forensic and detailed investigations by engineers, and that's gonna happen on Tuesday," he said.
Rumbaut welcomed Burkett's investigation and said Miami-Dade County is also inspecting buildings, but said in light of the tragedy, he felt more should be done.
"And not just the mayor, the county has ordered inspections of all five stores buildings that are over 40 years or more. My building is 12 stories, it doesn't matter the stories, but it's 24 years old. Same builder, my building should be inspected. But even so I'm time they should inspect more building without necessarily any arbitrary criteria."
Over the weekend, a resident filed a lawsuit against the Champlain Tower South Condominium Association, accusing it of failure to act despite warnings that the building was structurally flawed.
The resident, Steve Rosenthal, said the association had "breached all of the contractual duties of care pertaining to the timely maintenance and repair of the structure of the condominium building."
At a makeshift memorial a block away, tributes to the victims and "missing" posters hung on a chain-link fence, with flowers and children's toys strewn about.
Given the scores of those still missing, the disaster may end up as one of the deadliest non-deliberate structural failures in U.S. history.
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