Collapsed Florida condo building to be razed as storm approaches

Preparations for demolition work were underway yesterday ahead of the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa at the partially collapsed Miami-area condo where 24 are confirmed dead.

Hopes of finding anyone alive are fast diminishing.

Most of the 12-storey Champlain Towers South building collapsed in the early hours of June 24, sending up a huge cloud of dust and rattling Americans unprepared for such a deadly urban disaster.

Search and rescue efforts for 121 people missing have been suspended.

“Our top priority is that the building come down as soon as possible no matter what time that occurs,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters yesterday. “We do not know a specific time the demolition will occur.”

“Search and rescue does have to pause temporarily while the demolition preparation is underway. There is threat to the standing building that is posed to the first responders” as crews drill into columns of the damaged building, she said. “We will begin the search and rescue once again on any sections of the pile that are safe to access as soon as we’re cleared.”

Cava noted that it was 11 days since the collapse.

As of morning yesterday, Tropical Storm Elsa was off the coast of Jamaica with winds of 60mph (95kph).

Today the storm was forecast to move across Cuba and hit western Florida on tomorrow or on Wednesday.

Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters demolition work could be completed before Elsa arrives, probably tomorrow.

Authorities had previously said the work could take weeks, but DeSantis, a Republican, said accelerating demolition was only prudent.

He said demolition could be completed within 36 hours – entailing “minimal work stoppage from the search and rescue teams” – and that work sifting through the existing debris could resume as soon as it is clear that no fires have erupted.

Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky said meanwhile several cases of Covid-19 had been detected in one team of searchers.

That team, he said, had been demobilised, and medical protocols put in place to isolate anyone affected.

In the wreckage of the Champlain Towers South complex in Surfside, workers were drilling into columns where small explosive charges will be placed to bring the remains of the building down in a small area, officials said.

Residents in nearby buildings do not need to evacuate but should stay indoors due to dust, the mayor said.

Instead of the usual fireworks and flag-waving parties, beachside communities in the area have planned more subdued events for the Fourth of July.

Miami Beach cancelled its Independence Day celebrations.

Investigators have not determined what caused the 40-yearold complex to collapse.

A 2018 engineering report found structural deficiencies that are now the focus of inquiries that include a grand jury examination.