159 people missing after the collapse of a condo building in Miami. Sadly it has been known for some time that the building had structural problems. By the photos it is difficult to imagine that anyone could be alive,

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/mia...-21/index.html

Over 4K people unaccounted for.

Where did you read that? I’m seeing 159, which is bad enough.

On TV. It kept saying 4K+ unaccounted for…then later showed 159 and $4K+. Very confusing. I can’t imagine 4K…that’s roughly 1/2 the number in the WTC 9/11.

That’s exactly the parallel I was drawing as regards actual WTC losses. Doesn’t seem right.

4,000 seems way too high for a condo building, maybe 400 and an extra 0 was added.

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Onto the building collapse….how on earth could this happen in a developed country like the US? It was in Miami…not in the boonies. It wasn’t something that happened suddenly. It was known the building had structural problems.

As the governor rightly says - we need to know quite urgently if this is very specific to this building, or a more general issue that may occur in other buildings.

Apparently apartment buildings in FL need a thorough recertification at 40 years old. This building was built in 1981. Maybe that timescale should be shortened? Were buildings of that era less safely constructed than modern buildings? I know there was a huge amount of construction of apartment buildings in Miami-Dade & Broward in the 70s and 80s ..

2018 engineering report raised concerns about structural damage to the concrete slab below the pool deck as well as cracking and spalling in the parking grarage.

"Abundant cracking and spalling of various degrees was observed in the concrete columns beams and walls. Several sizeable spalls were noted in both the topside of the entrance drive ramp and underside of the pool/ entrance drive/ planter slabs, which included instances with exposed, deteriorating rebar. Though some of this damage is minor, most of the concrete deterioration needs to be repaired in a timely fashion.”

"2018 report also noted that "many of the previous garage concrete repairs" were "failing."

"the waterproofing below the pool deck and Entrance Drive as well as all of the planter waterproofing is beyond its useful life and therefore must all be completely removed and replaced. The failed waterproofing is causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas. Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially,” the report read.

The report however did not make any mention of potential collapse, but seems like the building may not have been in the best condition, or maintained properly over the years.

Yeah I just read that whole 2018 report. Sounds bad, but hard to read “danger of catastrophic building collapse within 2 or 3 years” into it. (Not that I’m an engineer or builder ..)

And the building's location looks like desirable waterfront real estate, so we aren't talking about a poor area here.

Right, I read somewhere the sister of Columbias 1st Lady was in there/...

Not just any old waterfront either…Miami beach waterfront. On TV a spokesperson said there was another condo building by the same developer. Said they had given the residents the offer of finding alternative accommodation. Left me wondering if it referred to what was left of that complex, or is there another near identical building somewhere?

yes there is an identical building next door, And maybe others

Thank you. I looked on Google Earth earlier and saw there was one similar…different balconies and window format. I’ve just taken a second look and yes, that must be the one they were referring to.

One theory is that it’s seawater that has seeped underneath and done the damage. If that’s the case, I am glad I don’t own a condo on Miami Beach.