The death toll after the house collapse in Miami, Florida is rising. An expert from Germany offers a possible cause for the disaster in the USA.
- Florida, USA *: In Surfside near Miami, a high-rise apartment building has collapsed.
- Nine fatalities have been found so far – more than 150 people are still missing.
- Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency with the support of US President Joe Biden *.
Update from Monday, June 28th, 2021, 12.30 p.m.: Four days after the collapse of a twelve-story skyscraper in Surfside near Miami, around 150 people are still missing. The New York Times reported on Monday (June 28th, 2021). The search is in full swing.
In addition, experts continue to feverishly search for the cause of the tragic accident in the USA. According to initial findings, they assume that the reason for the “progressive collapse” lies in the lower part of the building complex – possibly in or under the underground car park, reports The New York Times. “It appears to start either at or very near the bottom of the structure,” engineer Donald O. Dusenberry told the newspaper.
Miami skyscraper is said to have sunk over the years
According to a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the collapse was probably not due to a sudden event. Jens Schneider, Professor of Statics at the Technical University of Darmstadt, cites the location of the high-rise as a possible explanation. According to SZ, this is located on a narrow tongue of land between the sea and a water-rich marshland.
A study from 2020 had documented that the high-rise must have sunk since the 1990s, Schneider explained to the SZ. “And if the foundation that connects the different parts of the building with one another is so unevenly settled, so-called constrained loads can occur in the supporting structure, which can suddenly discharge when the material is exposed to high loads,” the expert told the newspaper. This could cause the supports to lose their stability. According to the Süddeutscher Zeitung, the authorities were aware of the study. However, nothing has been done.
Florida skyscraper collapsed: death toll continues to rise
+++ Sunday, June 27th, 2021, 7:11 p.m.: Miami – After the collapse of a twelve-story apartment building in Surfside near Miami in Florida, more fatalities were found in the rubble. The number of dead has risen to nine, said the mayor of the Miami-Dade district, Daniella Levine Cava, on Sunday (June 27th, 2021). It’s a race against time. For several days, the rescue workers in Florida have been looking for people buried in the rubble – still hoping to find survivors. The rescue teams are on duty around the clock with sniffer dogs, special cameras, listening instruments and heavy equipment.
Instead of survivors, more unidentified “human remains” have now been found, Levine Cava said at the weekend. It was not more specific. Four of the dead have so far been identified. However, this is not easy, stressed the mayor. DNA tests would be used here. DNA samples were collected from relatives for this purpose. It is to be feared that the death toll is likely to rise significantly in the next few days after the accident.
USA: Champlain Tower in Florida collapsed – search for missing persons halts
The “Champlain Tower South” with around 130 residential units had partially collapsed on Thursday night (June 24th, 2021). The misfortune surprised people in their sleep. According to Levine Cava on Saturday evening (June 26, 2021, local time), 156 people were last missing. However, it is not certain whether the missing persons were all in the building at the time of the accident. This is a list of people that could have been potentially in the house. Many families fear for their loved ones.
In the meantime, a fire in the rubble had significantly hampered the search operation. The rescue workers had initially had difficulties locating the origin of the fire under the rubble, isolating and extinguishing it. This made the search for possible buried subjects very difficult. In the meantime, however, the fire is under control and the search work is making better progress as a result. The emergency services had dug a kind of trench in the rubble in order to be able to comb through the mountains of rubble better.
Several people were injured in the accident at Surfside. More than 35 people have been rescued so far.
Tragic accident in the USA: cause of house collapse still unclear
The cause of the partial collapse remains a mystery three days after the disaster. The residential complex dates from the 1980s. At the weekend, an inspection report from 2018 was also made public, in which experts listed several defects in the building. It is a “major structural damage” to the building. Concrete slabs were badly damaged by water damage. Whether the defects could be related to the Florida collapse remained open.
The mayor of Miami-Dade *, Levine Cava, stressed that she was not previously aware of the report. The authorities followed up on all clues and the cause of the accident to the bottom, so that something like this never happens again, she promised. In the meantime, it will also check whether other similarly old buildings are safe. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said a nearby building, constructed by the same contractor around the same time, is being specially inspected. Alternative accommodation will be offered for residents who do not feel safe in the building by the time the inspection is complete.
Help after house collapse in Florida: Joe Biden confirms state of emergency
In order to release additional funds and material after the accident, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had declared a state of emergency. This was confirmed by President Joe Biden on Friday (June 25th, 2021) in order to be able to make federal funds available. (iwe / dpa) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Rubriklistenbild: © Mike Stocker/image
