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Agence France-Presse

Reuters

Rescuers on Tuesday combed through the debris of a deadly condo tower collapse in Florida as Tropical Storm Elsa threatened to complicate the delicate search mission with strong winds and heavy rain.
The death toll from the June 24 disaster in Surfside, a town north of Miami Beach, rose to 36 as search teams found eight more bodies in the rubble, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.
Twenty-six victims have been identified.

Levine Cava said 109 people were still listed as missing and the authorities have been able to confirm that 70 of that number were in the 12-storey building when it came tumbling down.
She said Tropical Storm Elsa was making the already “challenging and adverse conditions” faced by the search teams even more difficult.
“We’re closely monitoring the weather,” the mayor said.
The National Hurricane Center said Elsa, which has maximum sustained winds of 70 miles (110 kilometres) per hour, is expected to become a hurricane before making landfall on the north Florida Gulf coast on Wednesday morning.
The authorities warned residents to prepare for storm surge and possible power outages but Surfside and the Miami area on the east coast of the state appear to have avoided the brunt of the storm.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said the weather was affecting the search of the debris from the building known as Champlain Towers South.
“The wind is hampering the large cranes moving very heavy debris,” he said. “That’s a challenge they’re trying to work around right now.”
Miami-Dade County fire chief Alan Cominsky said the demolition on Sunday night of the still standing portion of the building had allowed search teams to expand their operations.
Cominsky said 200 firefighters were “actively searching on the pile” with help from teams around the country and the world.
Cominsky said 124 tons of debris had been removed so far.


Burkett, the Surfside mayor, said engineers were conducting a “full structural review” of other tall buildings in the city including Champlain Towers North, a sister condo tower to the one that collapsed.
He said the authorities have “deep concerns about that building” and some residents have moved out.
“In most respects it’s the same building, built at the same time by the same owner and probably with the same materials,” Burkett said.
Levine Cava said “numerous investigations” were under way looking into the reasons for the collapse.
“The whole world wants to know what happened here,” she said. “I look forward to learning the truth, as do we all.”
“It’s very early to name any sources but of course everything is under review,” she said.
Florida building collapse: death toll rises to 27 as search resumes in Surfside
Levine Cava expressed her concern for the families that are awaiting for news about their loved ones.
“We know that the waiting, and the waiting, and the waiting is unbearable,” Levine Cava said.
No survivors have been found since the day of the collapse.
A 2018 report released by city officials revealed fears of “major structural damage” in the complex, from the concrete slab under the pool deck to columns and beams in the parking garage.
In a letter to residents in April, Jean Wodnicki, chair of the condo association, described “accelerating” damage to the 40-year-old building since then, and repairs had been set to begin soon.


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United States

Florida building collapse: death toll rises to 36 as Tropical Storm Elsa complicates search

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in Surfside, Florida. Photo: Miami Herald / TNS

Cranes mark the skyline at the spot where a controlled demolition of the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo took place on July 5, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. - A controlled explosion brought down the unstable remains of the collapsed apartment block in Florida late on July 4 ahead of a threatening tropical storm as rescuers prepare to resume searching for victims. (Photo by Giorgio Viera / AFP)

Charles W. Burkett, the mayor of the Town of Surfside, speaks at the daily press conference on the 13th day since the collapse of Champlain Tower East on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald/TNS)

Rest of collapsed Florida building demolished with explosives ahead of storm

The remaining structure of the Champlain Towers South condo building is demolished more than a week after it partially collapsed. Photo: AP

SURFSIDE, FL - JULY 04: Flowers are seen at a memorial to those missing outside the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building that partially collapsed on July 04, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. Over one hundred people are being reported as missing as the search-and-rescue effort was suspended to prepare for demolition of the portion left standing. Saul Martinez/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

The site is set for the demolition of the partially collapsed 12-story oceanfront condo, Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla., on Sunday, July 4, 2021. Demolition specialists finished boring holes and began laying explosives in them Sunday as they prepared to bring down the precarious but still-standing portion of a collapsed South Florida condo building, a top Miami-Dade fire official said. The work has suspended the search-and-rescue mission, but officials said it should eventually open up new areas for rescue teams to explore. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP)

epa09322944 A view of the rubble of the Champlain Towers South condominium after its demolition, in Surfside, Florida, USA, 04 July 2021. City officials decided to demolish the remaining part of Champlain Towers South with explosives, accelerating their plans due to an approaching tropical storm Elsa. EPA-EFE/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH

Death toll rises as search resumes at demolished Florida condo site

Cranes are seen where the 12-storey Champlain Towers South condo stood. The remainder of the building was demolished on Sunday night. Photo: AFP

After a brief stoppage to demolish the standing remains, Search and Rescue personnel continue working in the rubble pile of the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo on July 5, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. - A controlled explosion brought down the unstable remains of the collapsed apartment block in Florida late on July 4 ahead of a threatening tropical storm as rescuers prepare to resume searching for victims. (Photo by Giorgio VIERA / AFP)

Florida building collapse: death toll rises to 27 as search resumes in Surfside

Rescuers search for victims at a collapsed South Florida condo building. Photo: Miami Herald via AP

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, tours the site of the rubble with his entourage, while a few dozen people passed through the memorial wall on 88th to pay their respects at the the Champlain Tower South complex, Monday, July 5, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald via AP)

The partially collapsed Champlain Towers South residential building is demolished in Surfside, Florida, U.S., July 4, 2021. Picture taken July 4, 2021. REUTERS/Marco Bello

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World

United States & Canada


Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 109 people were still listed as missing
Levine Cava said authorities have been able to confirm that 70 of that number were in the 12-storey building when it came tumbling down



Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 109 people were still listed as missing and 26 victims had been identified.


Florida

Extreme weather

Florida building collapse: death toll rises to 36 as Tropical Storm Elsa complicates search

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 109 people were still listed as missing Levine Cava said authorities have been able to confirm that 70 of that number were in the 12-storey building when it came tumbling down

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 109 people were still listed as missing

Levine Cava said authorities have been able to confirm that 70 of that number were in the 12-storey building when it came tumbling down