12 story apartment building suddenly collapses in Miami

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woolfe9998

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
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One confirmed dead so far, but 99 people are unaccounted for. Most of those were likely absent/on vacation at the time, but it also seems likely they'll find more bodies in the rubble.


Here is a video of the building suddenly collapsing.

www.cnn.com

Massive search and rescue underway in Florida after condo collapse | CNN

At least 99 people are unaccounted for after a building partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida. At least one person was killed and at least 11 were injured. The Miami-Dade mayor said at least 102 people have been accounted for as rescue efforts continue.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com

Frankly, I'll be surprised if only one dies from this.

My issue here is how does this happen? When have buildings just suddenly collapsed like anywhere in this country? This is the kind of thing that sometimes happens in developing countries with no building codes.

Article suggests that the cause might be a couple of things. The building was built on "reclaimed wetlands" and has been slowly sinking. Also, construction of a nearby building may have damaged the foundation.

Someone certainly effed up here. Huge lawsuits will definitely ensue.
 
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MomentsofSanity

MomentsofSanity

Lifer
Jan 25, 2011
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woolfe9998 said:
One confirmed dead so far, but 99 people are unaccounted for. Most of those were likely absent/on vacation at the time, but it also seems likely they'll find more bodies in the rubble.


Here is a video of the building suddenly collapsing.

www.cnn.com

Massive search and rescue underway in Florida after condo collapse | CNN

At least 99 people are unaccounted for after a building partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida. At least one person was killed and at least 11 were injured. The Miami-Dade mayor said at least 102 people have been accounted for as rescue efforts continue.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com

Frankly, I'll be surprised if only one dies from this.

My issue here is how does this happen? When have buildings just suddenly collapsed like anywhere in this country? This is the kind of thing that sometimes happens in developing countries with no building codes.

Article suggests that the cause might be a couple of things. The building was built on "reclaimed wetlands" and has been slowly sinking. Also, construction of a nearby building may have damaged the foundation.

Someone certainly effed up here. Huge lawsuits will definitely ensue.
Click to expand...
How old was the building? With the codes in Florida due to hurricanes etc... I'm having a hard time understanding how this happened.
 
dank69

dank69

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
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woolfe9998 said:
WaPo articles says 1981 so it was not some ancient structure.
Click to expand...
I read it was in the process of going through mandatory 40-year inspections. Also heard there was construction in progress but also heard it was just the roof having maintenance.
 
UNCjigga

UNCjigga

Lifer
Dec 12, 2000
24,810
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I saw some speculation that the ground in certain “reclaimed” areas around Miami beaches is essentially a sandbar that can shift and loosen over time with weather/tides/climate change.
 
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woolfe9998

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
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UNCjigga said:
I saw some speculation that the ground in certain “reclaimed” areas around Miami beaches is essentially a sandbar that can shift and loosen over time with weather/tides/climate change.
Click to expand...

Well that would certainly be an interesting political development if this can be attributed to climate change.

Righties whine about the costs of avoiding climate change but I don't think many people actually understand the costs of CC itself.
 
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BoomerD

BoomerD

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Feb 26, 2006
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Looks like there now as many as 99 people unaccounted for.
Sadly, my first thought was..."Why couldn't this have been Mar a Lago?"

Then my better sensibilities kicked in...I hope the actual death toll is much smaller than it looks like it will be.
 
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Meghan54

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
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T

tweaker2

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
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senseamp

senseamp

Lifer
Feb 5, 2006
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tweaker2 said:
So then it can be assumed then that the problem was already known yet nothing was done or even be in the planning stages(?) toward` having the foundation shored up.

I can see a horde of ambulance chasers descending on the scene looking for survivors and hitting the Florida Bureau of Conveyances websites hard looking for owner's titles and deeds.
Click to expand...

To sue whom and for what though? HOA is basically half dead and certainly bankrupt with no assets left. And their insurance limits are going to be blown out very quickly with that many casualties.
 
MomentsofSanity

MomentsofSanity

Lifer
Jan 25, 2011
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Paratus said:
Just saw the video. Those 99 missing have got to be dead.
Click to expand...
Think it depends who they are. If they are just owners it could be seasonal people who aren’t anywhere near Florida. Sadly though it looked like quite a few lights on when it went down.
 
BlueWeasel

BlueWeasel

Lifer
Jun 2, 2000
15,940
474
126
woolfe9998 said:
My issue here is how does this happen? When have buildings just suddenly collapsed like anywhere in this country? This is the kind of thing that sometimes happens in developing countries with no building codes.

Someone certainly effed up here. Huge lawsuits will definitely ensue.
Click to expand...

As a licensed professional engineer who designs and evaluates structures, properly constructed buildings don't just suddenly collapse. In most cases, it takes years for a structure to move/deteriorate/settle, during which there will be PLENTY of visible signs.
 
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balloonshark

balloonshark

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Jun 5, 2008
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From an article I read a while back Miami is sinking and climate change is already causing sunny day flooding. Miami is spending billions of dollars raising roads, etc. They say you won't recognize Miami in 30 years.
 
BlueWeasel

BlueWeasel

Lifer
Jun 2, 2000
15,940
474
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Portion of building that collapsed:

SSC_tcb2af.jpg

Close-up of debris at ground level:

062421_n13-surfside-building-collapse-daytime-miami-dade-fire.jpg

It's a reinforced concrete structure, which is common for high-rise in hurricane regions. Based on what I see in the photo, my guess it is failure at foundation level, either due soil failure (sinkhole?) or punching shear through the foundation.

I read somewhere there is an underground parking garage under a portion (or all) of the part that collapsed.
 
Last edited:
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A

Amol S.

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2015
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senseamp said:
To sue whom and for what though? HOA is basically half dead and certainly bankrupt with no assets left. And their insurance limits are going to be blown out very quickly with that many casualties.
Click to expand...

Isn't HOA making millions in Florida due to population growth? Or are houses being torn down and turned into buildings in Florida?

Florida is a state known for sinkholes. If a massive sinkhole caused this to occur, I have a bad feeling about what building safety regulators are going to do with buildings in a 1 or 2 block radius.

One thing for certain is, it was not a natural gas explosion that caused the building to come down, usually those incidents have large amounts of fire. There was little to no fire in the video.
 
zinfamous

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
110,562
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Can't remember exactly what they are called, but that is one of those "soft structure" buildings: garage on the bottom, dwellings above, all supported by a single story of a few pillars.

These can't be built in CA after 1970 or so, because of earthquakes, though plenty of grandfathered ones still remain; uh, retrofitted I might assume.

Much of Miami is now below sea level, and that which isn't will be within 10 or 15 years. It's inescapable. ..but all of it sits on soft, sinking soil, destroyed by nutria and humans. It wouldn't surprise me that the subsurface where that building is planted just sloughed out beneath that section, or gave away just enough for that weak-ass base to collapse at that point.
 
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