Families cling to fading hopes for loved ones
More than 140 people remained missing Wednesday, nearly a week after the condo tower’s collapse. “We’re not leaving anybody behind,” the Surfside mayor repeated. “This is going to go until we pull everyone out of there.”
SURFSIDE, Fla. – A week after a 12-story condo building outside Miami collapsed, search officials vowed to press on with the rescue effort around the clock as the death toll rose to 18.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced at a Wednesday news conference that additional victims had been identified, bringing the total to 18 people dead and 147 still missing.
Earlier in the day, she said that families of 12 victims had been notified and that four families were still waiting to hear news of their loved ones.
As families cling to fading hope, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said Wednesday that many have asked him when efforts will turn from a rescue to a recovery mission and wondered how long a person could survive under the heaps of rubble.
Authorities reiterated that work at the site was a searchand-rescue effort, and workers would continue sifting through the rubble, listening and looking for signs of life.
“We’re not leaving anybody behind,” Burkett said Wednesday. “This is going to go until we pull everyone out of there.”
Families have also expressed frustration over possible severe weather in the coming days that may cause further delays in massive search and rescue efforts that include hundreds of rescuers rotating in 12-hour shifts at the site. President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he and first lady Jill Biden would visit the site of the collapse Thursday.
Israeli forces provide comfort, aid in search
There were many Jewish residents at the Champlain Towers South, and the Israel Defense Forces have been aiding in both the search-andrescue effort and in providing families information and emotional support.
Nearly a week after the Surfside building crumbled, IDF deputy commander Elad Edri acknowledges the chances of finding any survivors are slim. Still, his team works with families trying to identify the best spots to search for their loved ones, or their bodies.
Relatives are asked detailed questions, from who slept where to which part of the apartment a family member liked to sit in, any tidbit that might help.
“We hope to provide them comfort because they need it,” Edri said. “We hope to provide them with information because all the time we are advancing with the things we know.”
Families voice frustration over weather delays
Possible severe weather in the coming days may cause delays in search and rescue efforts, Kevin Guthrie, of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said Wednesday.
Guthrie said his team’s working with the National Hurricane Center and state meteorologists to develop contingency plans for severe weather, including tropical cyclones, adding that they may need to free up state assets centered at the site of the collapse in order to respond to severe weather. On Tuesday, Guthrie said the threat of severe weather prompted state officials to ask the federal government for the additional team.
“If a system does develop, we have a contingency plan ... of how we’ll continue to respond here while responding to the hurricane,” Guthrie said.
Two storm systems in the Atlantic may become tropical depressions in the coming days, but it’s unclear whether they may affect the U.S., according to the National Hurricane Center, which gives one of them an 80% chance of development.
Rescue officials Tuesday afternoon sounded a horn for a second time during the day’s work, signaling for workers to temporarily evacuate for an approaching storm with lightning.
Burkett, the Surfside mayor, said he has received questions from frustrated family members about why rescue efforts halt during thunderstorms.
Officials ask for donations for grieving families
People can send donations to families affected by the condo collapse at supportsurfside.org. Officials cautioned that one fake donation website has already been reported.
Over the course of two news conferences, Burkett told the story of 12-year-old Ellie Shella, who lost her father and an uncle to the collapse and was praying when he met her at the site.
On Tuesday evening, Burkett said Ellie’s mother is in financial distress, pointing out Ellie’s father was the provider for the family.
Ellie’s mother has asked for assistance for her family. Burkett said he told her story to Coral Gables Community Foundation CEO Mary Snow. The organization operates the website supportsurfside.org and has collected $1.9 million in donations.
“It’s working, your donations are having an impact,” Burkett said.
State attorney plans to pursue grand jury inquiry
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a Tuesday news conference that she is working with experts to identify reforms in building standards and other changes “to ensure a tragedy like this will never, ever happen again.”
State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said she would pursue a grand jury investigation into what led to the collapse.
Levine Cava said she fully supports such an inquiry. Asked what the grand jury would be looking for, Levine Cava said, “Like all of us, answers.”
“We have people waiting and waiting and waiting for news,” Levine Cava told reporters. “We have them coping with the news that they might not have their loved ones come out alive and still hope against hope that they will. They’re learning that some of their loved ones will come out as body parts. This is the kind of information that is just excruciating for everyone.”
The scrutiny won’t end there. On Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden believes the reasons for the collapse need to be investigated, and various federal agencies are already providing expertise.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology – an arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce that also investigated the 9/11 terrorist attack – has already indicated it will examine the disaster, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state could get involved if necessary.
State Sen. Jason Pizzo isn’t waiting. He told the USA TODAY Network that he plans to file legislation that would likely focus on building requirements, reinspection standards for older buildings, the risk of seawater intrusion and the financial obligations of condominium associations.