Building collapse in Florida

[Twiggler]

How could this have happened ?
I have been told here numerous times a building cannot do that....( building 7 )
Where is the real report on what happened....I am sure it is coming

Sad day in Florida, prayers are with all involved

[planosteve]

Good point. But, needs to be addressed by experts in bldg. construction. I suspect the difference is that bldg 7 was steel beam construction and the building in Miami was not.

[GFB]

“Three years before the deadly collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium complex near Miami, a consultant found alarming evidence of “major structural damage” to the concrete slab below the pool deck and “abundant” cracking and crumbling of the columns, beams and walls of the parking garage under the 13-story building.

The engineer’s report helped shape plans for a multimillion-dollar repair project that was set to get underway soon — more than two and a half years after the building managers were warned — but the building suffered a catastrophic collapse in the middle of the night on Thursday, trapping sleeping residents in a massive heap of debris.

The complex’s management association had disclosed some of the problems in the wake of the collapse, but it was not until city officials released the 2018 report late Friday that the full nature of the concrete and rebar damage — most of it probably caused by years of exposure to the corrosive salt air along the South Florida coast — became chillingly apparent.

“Though some of this damage is minor, most of the concrete deterioration needs to be repaired in a timely fashion,” the consultant, Frank Morabito, wrote about damage near the base of the structure as part of his October 2018 report on the 40-year-old building in Surfside, Fla. He gave no indication that the structure was at risk of collapse, though he noted that the needed repairs would be aimed at “maintaining the structural integrity” of the building and its 136 units.”

[planosteve]

I predict a whole hell of a lot of lawsuits.

[Kiamichi]

They have been saying for years that nearly all the high rise buildings in the Miami and Miami Beach areas are built on sand that has been made even more unstable by pumping out the ground water. It's anyone's guess what the next to fall will be. Of course, the global warming crowd blames it on the rising sea level.

[John in Plano]

The rebar inside the concrete , after 40 years in a salty environment , could have failed.
That is why Florida inspects buildings constructed in a similar fashion, every 40 years, according to on line news reports.

[planosteve]

An engineers report in 2018 revealed extensive damage caused by water leaking from the pool into the parking garage that needed to be fixed "on a timely basis". This was never told to the residents who would be looking at an assessment from 80-200 thousand dollars to repair.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/colla ... d=msedgntp