Following stability issues affecting searches, officials say Florida condo likely to be demolished

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Florida officials are working on plans to demolish what remains of a partially collapsed beachfront condominium after concerns over the structure’s instability resulted in a 15-hour standstill in search of survivors. After rescue efforts resumed Thursday evening, officials said they began planning for the likely demolition of the remaining structure even as researchers continue to comb the rubble pile below. Scott Nacheman, a FEMA structures specialist, said engineers are studying different demolition methods and how to proceed “to make the site safe for ongoing rescue operations.” Nacheman said if the building collapses, he Initially there will be a slowdown in the rescue operation. But he said the demolition of the structure would create a safer working environment that could allow more staff on the site and speed up the pace of the work. ‘It would likely take weeks before authorities schedule the demolition. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the demolition decision should be made “with extreme caution and method”, given the potential impact on the debris pile and the effect on the search. Rescue work was halted early Thursday after crews noticed widening cracks ent and up to a foot of movement in a large column. Work resumed shortly before 5 p.m. after the site was assessed by structural engineers, Cava said, describing firefighters as “really, really excited over there.” all the way through the parts of the collapse that we currently have access to, ”she said. down. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said the shutdown was worrying because “minutes and hours count, lives are at stake.” The temporary halt to rescue operations came on the same day President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited the devastated community. the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium has killed at least 18 people and left 145 people missing. No one has been rescued since the first hours after the collapse. “It’s life or death,” Biden said at a briefing. “We can do it, just having everyone do what needs to be done makes a difference. “There will be a lot of pain and anxiety and suffering and even the need for psychological help in the days and months that follow,” he said. “And so, we are not going anywhere.” Peter Milián is a cousin of Marcus Guara, who died with his wife, Anaely Rodriguez, and their two children, Lucia Guara, 10, and Emma, ​​4. Guara. Milián said he understands why the rescue work has had to be temporarily halted. “I mean, they did everything they could. But we trust the people who are on the ground. And obviously they have to do what is best for their people, no Because it’s a dangerous situation, “he said. In a private meeting with family members, Biden drew on his own experiences of grief to try to comfort them. Biden lost his first wife and baby daughter in a car crash and decades later, an adult son lost to cancer of the brain. veal. “I just wish I could do something to ease the pain,” he said in a video posted to Instagram by Jacqueline Patoka, a woman who was close to a couple and their daughter who are still missing. Biden has spoken of wanting to change places with a lost or missing loved one. “The wait, the wait is unbearable,” he said. The cause of the collapse is under investigation. A 2018 engineering report found that the building’s ground floor pool deck sat on a concrete slab that exhibited “major structural damage” and needed major repairs. The report also found “extensive cracking” of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking lot. Just two months before the building fell, the chairman of his board wrote a letter to residents saying that the structural problems identified during the 2018 inspection had “worsened considerably” and that major repairs would cost. at least $ 15.5 million. With bids for the work still pending, the building suddenly collapsed last Thursday. Associated Press editors Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale and Mark Kennedy in New York helped this report.

Florida officials are working on plans to demolish what remains of a partially collapsed beachfront condominium after concerns over the structure’s instability resulted in a 15-hour standstill in search of survivors.

After rescue efforts resumed on Thursday evening, officials said they began planning for the likely demolition of the remaining structure even as researchers continue to comb the pile of rubble below.

Scott Nacheman, a FEMA structural specialist, said engineers are studying different demolition methods and how to proceed “to make the site safe for ongoing rescue operations.”

Nacheman said if the building collapses there will initially be a slowdown in the rescue operation. But he said the demolition of the structure would create a safer working environment that could allow more staff on the site and speed up the pace of work.

He said it would likely take weeks before authorities schedule the demolition.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the demolition decision should be made “with extreme caution and method,” given the potential impact on the debris pile and the effect on research.

Rescue work was halted early Thursday after crews noticed growing cracks and a one-foot movement in a large column.

Work resumed shortly before 5 p.m. after the site was assessed by structural engineers, Cava said, describing firefighters as “really, really excited over there.”

“We will continue to search feverishly, as we have done from the start in the parts of the collapse to which we currently have access,” she said.

The work stoppage had threatened to dampen hopes of finding someone alive in the debris a week after the tower fell. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said the shutdown was worrying because “minutes and hours count, lives are at stake.”

The temporary halt to rescue operations came on the same day that President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited the devastated community.

The 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium collapse killed at least 18 people and left 145 people missing. No one has been rescued for the first few hours after the collapse.

“It’s life or death,” Biden said at a briefing. “We can do it, the simple fact that everyone does what needs to be done makes a difference. “

“There is going to be a lot of pain, anxiety and suffering and even the need for psychological help in the days and months that follow,” he said. “And so, we’re not going anywhere.”

Peter Milián is a cousin of Marcus Guara, who died with his wife, Anaely Rodriguez, and their two children, Lucia Guara, 10, and Emma Guara, 4. Milián said he understood why the rescue work had to be temporarily halted.

“I mean, they did everything they could. But we trust the people who are on the ground. And obviously, they have to do what’s best for their people, right? Because it is a dangerous situation, ”he said.

In a private meeting with family members, Biden drew on his own experiences of grieving to try to comfort them. Biden lost his first wife and baby daughter in a car crash, and decades later, an adult son suffered from brain cancer.

“I just wish I could do something to ease the pain,” he said in a video posted to Instagram by Jacqueline Patoka, a woman close to a couple and their daughter who is still missing.

Biden has spoken of wanting to change places with a lost or missing loved one. “The wait, the wait is unbearable,” he said.

The cause of the collapse is under investigation. A 2018 engineering report found that the building’s ground floor pool deck sat on a concrete slab that exhibited “major structural damage” and needed major repairs. The report also found “extensive cracking” of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage.

Just two months before the building fell, the chairman of his board wrote a letter to residents saying that the structural problems identified during the 2018 inspection had “worsened significantly” and that major repairs would cost at least $ 15.5 million. While bids for the work were still pending, the building suddenly collapsed last Thursday.

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Associated Press editors Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale and Mark Kennedy in New York contributed to this report.

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