Florida: Reports showed 'major structural damage' before building collapse

An engineer, in a report written three years ago, had warned of “major structural damage” to the building that collapsed this week in Miami. According to AP, the report was among a series of documents released by the city of Surfside as rescuers continued to dig Saturday through rubble in an effort to find any of the 156 people who remain unaccounted for after the collapse. The 2018 report revealed that the ground-floor pool deck of the oceanfront condominium building was resting on a concrete slab that had “major structural damage” and needed to be extensively repaired. It also uncovered “abundant cracking and spalling” of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage. 

As per reports, the findings from consultant engineer Frank Morabito said that waterproofing under the pool deck had failed and had been improperly laid flat instead of sloped, preventing water from draining off. The report did not warn of imminent danger from the damage and it is also unclear that if any of the damage observed was responsible for the collapse. However, it did note the need for extensive and costly repairs to fix the systemic issues with Champlain Towers South. 

“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 said.

Morabito noted that some of the damage to the concrete in the parking garage was minor, while other columns had exposed and deteriorating rebar. The consultant engineer also noted that many of the building’s previous attempts to fix the columns and other damage with epoxy were marred by poor workmanship and were failing. Beneath the pool deck “where the slab had been epoxy-injected, new cracks were radiating from the originally repaired cracks,” the report said.

Miami building collapse 

In a statement Saturday, Morabito Consultants confirmed its report “detailed significant cracks and breaks in the concrete, which required repairs to ensure the safety of the residents and the public”. The company said that it was "working closely with the investigating authorities to understand why the structure failed”. Officials said that five people had been confirmed dead and 156 were unaccounted for.

The large oceanfront condo building near Miami Beach partially collapsed on Thursday, prompting a massive search and rescue response as many people are reported missing. Teams also continued to tunnel into the site and dogs, sonar and cameras were deployed. Personnel from Mexico and Israel have arrived to help. However, authorities had no insight Friday on what caused 55 of the 136 units in the Champlain Towers South's northeast corridor to collapse.

(With inputs from AP)