Condo President Warned of Damage in April; Rescuers Vow to Press On

Less than three months before the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo complex in Surfside, Fla., the president of the condominium association warned in a letter that the damage in the building had “gotten significantly worse” since it was highlighted in a 2018 inspection.

Ms. Wodnicki could not immediately be reached for comment.

That 2018 inspection warned that concrete damage would “multiply exponentially” in the coming years, Ms. Wodnicki wrote in the letter, which was first reported by USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. The engineer who prepared that initial report, Frank Morabito, carried out “a much more detailed survey of the property” and found signs that this acceleration was indeed already happening. “When you can visually see the concrete spalling (cracking), that means that the rebar holding it together is rusting and deteriorating beneath the surface,” Ms. Wodnicki wrote.

She explained that these signs of growing damage were why the estimated costs of repair had jumped by some 60 percent since that 2018 inspection. “The concrete deterioration is accelerating. The roof situation got much worse,” she wrote adding: “New problems have been identified.”

“A lot of this work could have been done or planned for in years gone by,” she wrote in the letter. “But this is where we are now.”

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Six days after the disastrous collapse of a condo building near Miami, hundreds of rescuers continued the arduous and at times dangerous work of digging through the wreckage in an ever-eroding hope for survivors.

Officials on Tuesday highlighted the ongoing perils of the search efforts, like debris falling from the building’s wreckage, though they insisted that rescuers were, in the words of Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, “breaking their back, trying to find anybody they can.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the death toll stood at 11 at Champlain South Towers in Surfside, Fla., where the floors of the 13-story building fell on top of one another early on Thursday morning. The toll had not moved from the night before despite the non-stop operation on the giant mound of rubble, indicating the challenges of the search, even with as many as 210 workers on the pile at any time.

Over the past six days, said Alan R. Cominsky, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief, search and rescue teams have moved, piece by piece, “approximately three million pounds of concrete,” a process he described as “extremely difficult.”

At a meeting with family members of the missing on Tuesday morning, an Israeli rescue team on site announced that they were bringing in more workers.

“I could tell that there was more relief in the room,” said Charles W. Burkett, the mayor of Surfside, who attended that meeting. He emphasized that officials were determined “to get everyone out of that pile of rubble and reunite them with their families.”

The White House announced on Tuesday that President Biden and Jill Biden, the first lady, will travel to Florida on Thursday to tour the site of the building collapse and meet with families.

As rescue efforts continued, there were further indications that the next step — accountability for the disaster — was getting underway.

On Monday, the Florida state attorney, Katherine Fernandez Rundle, announced that she would ask a grand jury to examine the collapse, though the jury has yet to be empaneled. Mayor Danielle Levine Cava of Miami-Dade County pledged her support for such an investigation in a news conference on Tuesday.

Also, a letter publicly surfaced that the president of the condominium association had written to residents in April, revealing deep concerns about the building’s condition less than three months before it gave way.

At the meeting with the family members, Mr. Burkett acknowledged that there was some anger and frustration in the room from family members who have been waiting for days as the search at the pile continued. One person asked why the rescuers needed to stop digging in the lightning, he said. Another asked how long a person could survive under the rubble.

“Which was an excellent question,” Mr. Burkett said.

President Biden and Jill Biden, the first lady, will travel to Florida on Thursday to tour the site of collapsed Champlain Towers South condo complex and comfort the families of the 150 people listed as missing as the excruciating rescue and recovery effort drags on.

The Bidens will thank “search and rescue teams, and everyone who has been working tirelessly around the clock, and meet with the families who have been forced to endure this terrible tragedy, waiting in anguish and heartbreak for word of their loved ones to offer them comfort,” Jen Psaki, Mr. Biden’s press secretary, told reporters en route with the president to Wisconsin on Tuesday.

Ms. Psaki said the White House had planned the Florida trip in close coordination with officials in the Miami-Dade County area to ensure the trip would not divert “any critical local resources” from the recovery operation and to avoid “any negative operational impact.”

The families of the missing have endured a painstaking recovery process that has, so far, resulted in the retrieval 11 bodies from tons of pulverized, unstable rubble. Earlier, the White House press office later issued a one-line statement confirming the trip a week after the 13-story building suddenly gave way under its sleeping residents in the middle of the night.

On Monday, Ms. Psaki, said the president believed “there should be an investigation” into the collapse.

Mr. Biden, speaking briefly with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House en route to a trip to Wisconsin, also said that plans were in the works for the first lady to visit the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Mr. Biden spoke with Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Friday, pledging to provide federal help for the rescue, recovery and investigation of the collapse, which occurred after warnings about the structural integrity of the complex.

“We provided all the help they need,” Mr. Biden told reporters on Friday. “We sent the best people from FEMA down there. We’re going to stay with them with the disaster declaration we made, provide for everything from housing to, God forbid, whether there’s a need for a place for the bodies to be placed and everything in between.”

Word of Mr. Biden’s visit came as new details emerged about the cause of the collapse, and what appears to be a long pattern of missed warning signs about the building’s deteriorating condition.

Less than three months before the collapse, the president of the condominium association warned in a letter that the damage in the building had “gotten significantly worse” since it was highlighted in a 2018 inspection.

The letter was written to residents by Jean Wodnicki, president of the association’s board of directors, explaining why a list of extensive construction projects were worth a $15 million special assessment that residents were being asked to pay.

Stacie Fang, 54, was the first victim identified in the condo collapse. She was the mother of Jonah Handler, a 15-year-old boy who was pulled alive from the rubble in a dramatic rescue as he begged rescuers, “Please don’t leave me.”

Antonio Lozano, 83, and Gladys Lozano, 79, were confirmed dead by Mr. Lozano’s nephew, Phil Ferro, the chief meteorologist on WSVN Channel 7 in Miami. Mr. Ferro wrote on Instagram: “They were such beautiful people. May they rest in peace.”

Luis Andres Bermudez, 26, lived with his mother, Anna Ortiz, 46. Mr. Bermudez’s father confirmed his son’s death on social media, writing in Spanish: “My Luiyo. You gave me everything … I will miss you all of my life. We’ll see each other soon. I will never leave you alone.”

Manuel LaFont, 54, was a businessman who worked with Latin American companies. His former wife, Adriana LaFont, described him as “the best dad.” Mr. LaFont’s son, 10, and daughter, 13, were with Ms. LaFont when the building collapsed.

Leon Oliwkowicz, 80, and Christina Beatriz Elvira, 74, were from Venezuela and had recently moved to Surfside, according to Chabadinfo.com, which said they were active in the Orthodox Jewish community in greater Chicago, where their daughter lives.

Also killed in the collapse were Marcus Joseph Guara, 52; Frank Kleiman, 55; and Michael David Altman, 50.

— The New York Times

As rescue teams continue extensive search efforts in the rubble of the collapsed condo building near Miami, local officials are undertaking a parallel mission to identify other buildings in the area that may be at risk.

On Tuesday, Miami-Dade County officials attempted to soothe residents’ fears about the vulnerability of other apartment towers with an update on the progress of an emergency building audit, announced by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava over the weekend.

“We’re taking swift action to immediately identify and address any outstanding issues with the buildings that have not yet completed their 40-year recertification process,” Ms. Levine Cava said at a news conference Tuesday, referring to government requirements in many parts of South Florida that ensure that older building are up to code. She added that “within a matter of days or short weeks we will have addressed all of those safety concerns.”

Building inspectors were dispatched in Miami-Dade County this week to begin examining the highest priority buildings: residential buildings four stories or higher that are past-due for their 40-year recertifications.

There are 41 buildings on that list, according to Sergio Ascunce, a Miami-Dade County deputy building official. Twenty-four of those buildings were already identified by the county as “unsafe structures” because of their failure to comply with the recertification process.

According to Ms. Levine Cava, one property owner in the northeast part of the county was notified by a county building official on Monday that four balconies must be immediately closed to residents because of unsafe conditions.

Otherwise, no major structural concerns have been identified.

— Sophie Kasakove

Blocks away from the collapsed condominium, a tennis court’s chain-link fence has become a makeshift memorial, bringing some solace to a community shocked by the magnitude of the tragedy.

There are prayers in English and Spanish wrapped around dozens of colorful candles, their wicks burned. Laminated photo galleries of missing people. A poster calling one woman a #SuperGrandma. A picture of the Guara family that says, “We have not lost hope,” a red-beaded rosary hanging from the corner.

The most painful reminders line the sidewalk: stuffed animals, baby dolls, a horse head on a stick, a battered Nerf gun and a green Hess truck. Some were discovered by firefighters in the rubble.

Vadim Voynov, 65, of Hallandale Beach, Fla., visited the memorial with his wife, who wiped away tears as she walked past some search-and-rescue members. The Voynovs left a bouquet in honor of their physician, Dr. Ruslan Manashirov, and his wife, Nicole, who lived in a big unit on the seventh floor with a view of the beach. They are still among the missing.

“It’s been quite a few days,” Mr. Voynov said. “The hope is still there, but it’s very, very, very slim, unfortunately.”

Leo Soto, who started the wall, and his friends hung up more flowers on Monday after a local business donated about 10,000 stems of green hydrangeas and palms.

Mr. Soto, 26, said he came up with the idea for the wall after waking up at 4 a.m. on Friday, the day after the building collapsed. Anxious over the thought of his missing friend, Nicky Langesfeld, he said he wanted to help provide emotional support for the community. The next morning, he started printing out pictures of some of the missing residents and contacted local florists.

Ms. Langesfeld lived in Unit 804 and recently had her bachelorette party, Mr. Soto said. Her fiancée, Luis Sadovnic, is also missing.

“It was a couple that had so much love together and so much happiness together,” Mr. Soto said. “They were thinking about starting a family.”

He stressed that the wall was not just a memorial, but a symbol of hope.

“I have hope,” Mr. Soto said. “This is the wall of hope. This community has hope.”

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Vigil Held for Missing Residents of the Surfside Condominium Collapse

Family members and friends of the missing residents of the Surfside, Fla., condominium collapse held a vigil while they awaited more news from local officials on the 150 people still unaccounted for.

“You can close your eyes. Go inwards — when we venture to these unthinkable times.” “There’s a — I really believe miracles to happen. Things like this have happened around the world and forces — Israeli forces, Mexican forces — the best teams are put on this mission right now.”

More than 100 people gathered for a beach vigil on Monday night to commemorate victims and those still missing after last week’s condo collapse near Miami.

Family members, friends and residents sat cross-legged in the sand, holding glow-in-the-dark candle sticks and white roses as the sound of waves filled the air. People remained mostly silent as they grieved at the end of the fifth day of a harrowing search for survivors. Hopes have been dimming and frustration has built around the slow pace of rescue efforts.

A half-circle formed around Michelle Cash and her husband, Rich Gausman, who led a “sound healing” session on the beach behind the Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club. “Hope” was spelled in the nearby sand with wet seaweed and candlesticks.

As the session went on, people wiped away tears. Others clasped their hands in prayer. A cool breeze offered reprieve from the sweltering heat.

“The pain, the suffering that has been going on in this community will never be understood. Days will pass, months will pass, America, the world will forget about this,” said Leo Soto, 26, who started a makeshift memorial wall near the collapse site. “We have to live through this. We’ll never forget about this.”

Naomi Romo and Alfredo Garcia of Miami brought three bouquets of flowers to the vigil. Ms. Romo was in the same graduating class as Nicky Langesfeld, who lived in Unit 804 and is among those missing. Although Ms. Romo said she did not know Ms. Langesfeld well, she often passed her in the hallway when they both attended Ronald W. Reagan Doral Senior High School.

“It’s a person that you grew up seeing. I’ve seen her since middle school,” said Ms. Romo, a 25-year-old therapist. “Everything has been a shock. I’m just here to give any kind of support that I can offer.”

Miami Beach has canceled its Independence Day celebrations on Sunday out of respect for the victims of the collapsed condo building in the neighboring town of Surfside, Fla., and their families.

The city’s annual Fire on the Fourth festival had been scheduled for July 4 at 72nd Street and Collins Avenue, about a mile south of where Champlain South Towers partially collapsed last week. At least 11 people were killed, and about 150 were missing as of Monday.

Holiday celebrations in other parts of Miami-Dade County have been scaled back because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Yuliya Popchenkova, a resident of Surfside, said she wasn’t surprised by the decision to cancel the Miami Beach event.

“I knew it was going to happen even before they announced it,” said Ms. Popchenkova, who lives near the site of the collapse. “It’s respectful; this was a tragedy.”

Ms. Popchenkova, who works at a Surfside hotel, also said she wasn’t worried about any money she may miss out on this weekend. “We might not make as much money as we did last Fourth of July, but it’s important to be respectful.”

As for her own Fourth of July plans, Ms. Popchenkova said she wasn’t sure what she’ll do. “I’ll probably just call my family,” she said. “And make sure I tell them that I love them.”

When did it happen?

Survivors said they were jolted awake at about 1:30 a.m. on Thursday by fire alarms, falling debris and the feeling of the ground trembling.

How many people have died?

At least 11 people were killed. The authorities fear many more fatalities.

How many are unaccounted for?

Some 150 people remained unaccounted for as of Monday, officials said.

How many have been rescued?

About 35 people were rescued from the intact part of the building, and two were pulled from the rubble, said Ray Jadallah, a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue assistant fire chief.

How tall was the building?

The tower was 13 stories tall; about half of the 135 units collapsed.

When was it built?

It was constructed in 1981, according to county property records.

How many people live in Surfside, Fla.?

The town, just north of Miami Beach, has about 5,600 residents. It is a mostly residential community, with several multistory condominium buildings along Surfside Beach on the Atlantic Ocean. The town has an Orthodox Jewish community and is also home to many retirees as well as immigrants from South America.