But subsidence, or the gradual sinking of land, likely would not on its own cause a building to collapse, according to Wdowinski, whose expertise is in space geodesy, natural hazards and sea level rise. Initially, 150 people were thought to be missing. Albert Aguero, his wife and two children, who are from New Jersey and on vacation in South . The lady that was in the elevator with me before I went to bed that night, before I went to - home for the evening - we were talking. WSVN broadcast educational and informational programming for children, and file quarterly reports with the FCC detailing the station's outreach to children. And I want you to know that in 2018, we had a board meeting. Copyright 2023 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. Firefighters on Friday declared the end of their search for bodies at the site of a collapsed Florida condo building, concluding a month of painstaking work removing . Searchers for a second day combed through the massive pile of debris following the collapse of a Florida condo building, as officials vowed to keep looking for anyone who may still . Published Initially, 150 people were thought to be missing. Nine of the 98 Surfside victims may have SURVIVED the initial condo collapse: Fire rescue logs show woman was alive in rubble for TEN HOURS. With Eyal traveling for work often, Gabe told CBS News he decided to live with his mom and teen sister to help them out. He thought the cause of the collapse was a gas explosion and wanted to get a safe distance away. But, The June 24 collapse killed 97 people 96 bodies were pulled from the debris and one died at a hospital after being removed and. With her dog in her arms, she had to climb through rubble and over cars to escape. When I opened the door to my apartment, it leads to a long hallway, and all I saw was debris, Osin-Cohen told"Today. We got to the stairwell and when we opened the door, that's when everything really hit, because half the wall to the stairwell was missing, it was kind ofopen airstairs, so now we're just racing down as fast as possible.". Miami Condo Collapse: Why Search for Survivors Is so Slow - Newsweek They were always, always offering assistance. The family is now living in a hotel and dealing with the trauma of that night. An attached copy of the policy showed limits between $1 million and $2 million. It's not like her, and it's not like me, and when I woke up at 5:30, I understood why." Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The Lopez family has lived for two decades on the street side of the condo that's still partially intact. Sharon Schechter, 60, described her escape to WPLG, saying she believes she was only one of two people who survived from her floor when the 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South near Miami partially collapsed early Thursday morning. I mean, did you have any idea that the building was unsound? Newsroom: (305) 795-2777. So far, one person is confirmed dead, 11 are injured and 99 people . "My initial reaction is wow, we were so lucky. We talked aboutitand we say it's about 15 feet that we survived by, if we had been 15 feet to the right, it would have gone down, or half of the apartment would have gone down," Aguero said. So far, they have rescued 35 people who were trapped in the building and two others from beneath the rubble, according to Jadallah. Did anyone survive the Surfside condo partial collapse? Coco, a black and white tuxedo cat, was left behind after her 89-year-old owner was pulled to safety from her fourth floor apartment. Residents of a partially-collapsed condo in Surfside, Florida, have spoken out about what they heard, felt, and saw during the disaster, as search and rescue efforts continue. And my mom decided to stay later at her event, my sister decided to come back home late," he said. I left my cat behind. Surfside survivors tell how they escaped collapsed condo | Miami Herald At 11:05 a.m., about 10hours after the condo caved-in, the logs noted that rescuers lost voice contactwith a female victim and requested backup and canines to scour the basement. CNNs Eric Levenson contributed to this report. An investigation by USA Today found that at least nine of the 98 people killed in the tragedy initially survived the June 24 collapse, including one woman who was possibly still alive under the rubble 10 hours later. In May:DeSantis signs condo reform bill a response to Surfside building collapse into law. Reach him at JDelgado@gannett.com. In the early morning hours of June 24, Sara, Gabe and Chani were home but all three had a reason to be awake later than usual. I look and the ceilings down, the concrete, the cement," Rosenthaltold NBC South Florida. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. It's still unclear what caused the condominium, which has withstood decades of hurricanes, to partially collapse. I could hear people crying and screaming for help, Lopez told the Herald. And I remember telling 911, 'I can't explain anything right now, you guys have to come here ASAP,'" he said. New Jersey family recounts surviving Surfside building collapse Recordings of 911 calls released from the scene of the Florida condominium building collapse reveal the chaos and . Hes based in Tallahassee. July 14, 2021 / 6:01 AM / CBS Miami. The family's condo was on the ninth floor of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. That's when the family started hearing loud noises. ALVAREZ: Not to that extent. ALVAREZ: It was. Over a month after a condominium complex near Miami abruptly collapsed overnight, local officials said Monday theyve identified the remains of a final missing person, sending the disasters overall death toll to 98. And I feel like fate really God really came and saved us," he said. He and his wife got the kids from their beds and ran for their lives. "For some reason, we all were doing things later than usual. Steve Rosenthal said he was woken up when he heard a loud noise and felt his unit shaking. And there was an older lady and they were helping us out of the rubble. "The chandeliers and the pendant lights [were] just swaying completely, and that was not normal. Those are our neighbors. And the town of Surfside said to us that the building was not in bad shape, that the building was not in bad shape. Its the only way they can heal.. He said the Surfside investment is its first U.S. project. Fox News Flash top headlines are here. The final missing person in the condominium building collapse in Surfside, Florida has been recovered and identified, according to the Miami-Dade County mayor. As of Friday, some 159 people were still unaccounted for following the collapse of the northeast section of Champlain Towers early Thursday morning, and four people have . Florida Condo Collapse Survivor Climbed Through Rubble With - Insider Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. A 2020 study conducted by Shimon Wdowinski, a professor at Florida International University's Institute of Environment in Miami, found signs of land subsidence in from 1993 to 1999 in the area where the Champlain Towers South condominium is located. And it was just a lot - what looked like smoke, which must've been dust. ALVAREZ: I am near the building. My balcony doors opened. "They are going to basically have to start all over again," Capponi said. Survival experts explain what it would take to survive a building Switchboard: (305) 751-6692 "Pancake collapses tend to 'stack' floors on themselves, bringing all their weight down nearly square on the . It's like a motor it just goes fast, fast, fast," he said, adding that they don't even know where to start. Fires have flared up throughout the day, adding to the danger for the search and rescue teams, according to the official. Its a miracle. She still hears the screams from that night. GARCIA-NAVARRO: And this is, of course, the middle of the night, so it's dark. "I know that they are hopeful, so we are hopeful as well.". At approximately 1:20 a.m. on June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story, 136-unit condo building at 8777 Collins Ave., Surfside, partially collapsed in a matter of minutes. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Surfside condo survivors recall traumatizing building collapse - TODAY.com The rumble was followed by a loud crash and debris as part of a condo complex collapsed in Surfside . It was about the life that I had there. At least 10 people have been confirmed dead, but over 150 are still missing as of Monday afternoon. I don't care about that. The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiners Office has released initial reports for 67 of the victims, listing the cause of death as either blunt force injuries or building collapse.Only one autopsy was performed, according to the report. One unit over, and I am gone, Rosenthal added. We climbed out of rubble. ALVAREZ: It makes me think that the engineer did not properly do his work. The condo collapse in Surfside, Florida has a Loudoun County man relieving and retelling his own horror story, after he was rescued from an apartment building collapse 20 years ago. Contact this reporter at kvlamis@insider.com. But the staircase directly outside their unit was collapsing, he said, so they had to find another one. "I remember screaming to my mom and my sister, 'Run, run, just run for your life,'" Gabe said, adding that he heard screaming from others and it felt like a nightmare. The remaining portion of the structure was demolished on July 4, and search efforts shifted into recovery mode. Support . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Dressed in flip-flops and pajamas, Alfredo and Marian Lopez left their home of 22 years afterwhat sounded like a loud crash of thunder woke them from their sixth-floor apartment at the northwest corner of the Champlain Towers South. Search for Survivors of Miami Condo Collapse Is Ending - The New York Times Direktor said the construction plans had already been submitted to the Town of Surfside but the only work that had begun was on the roof. 4 dead, 11 hurt, dozens missing in high-rise collapse near Miami Beach Champlain Towers South is the 13-story beachfront building that collapsed June 24. And at that point, I got up, and I said, wow. June 2021: The collapse. What we know about the building that partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida. While the family is still dealing with the trauma of that night, Gabe said he thinks fate kept them alive. They're working around the clock and they're using every possible tool," she added. More than 150 people were unaccounted for after a high-rise condo building partially collapsed near Miami Beach early Thursday, leaving at least four people dead and 11 injured, officials said . From the balcony of his vacation rental in Unit 1106 right by the collapsed wing he saidhe saw a grey cloud covering the entire building. Search for bodies concludes in Surfside condo collapse Surfside condo collapse victim Luis Pettengill played college tennis at Indianas Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 2007. And the building was covered with smoke - smoke everywhere. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Susana Alvarez, who lived on the 10th floor of the building that collapsed in Surfside, Florida. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. All rights reserved, How to Help Victims of the Surfside Building Collapse, Deeply Emotional': Families of the Missing Visit Site of Florida Condo Collapse, Viral Kids' Star Ms. Rachel Is Taking a Break From Social Media After Backlash Over Co-Star Who Uses They/Them Pronouns, Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Flight Attendant Hit the Ceiling': 7 Hospitalized After Severe Turbulence Diverts Flight to Virginia, Check Your Change! July 5, 2021 4 . I went with the people. Susana Alvarez fled her home on the 10th floor of Champlain Towers South, escaping with her life and almost nothing else. And there was maybe two apartments left in my floor, and I banged on their doors. Yes, I want answers. It just makes us really grateful, but also sad. But it wasn't even a minute that went by when it was - my bed started to shake like if I was on a - like I was on a ride. Alfredo Lopez and his wife describe how they escaped the crumbling Champlain Towers South on June 24, 2021. So Sara went to the front lobby to talk to the security guard. And they opened it, and I just ran. Michael Capponi, the president of a Miami-area nonprofit that for the past decade has helped victims of disasters from hurricanes to wildfires in the U.S. and abroad, said he has personally dealt with 50 people who lost homes in the building. However, Figueiredo told him to stay because they do not get spend Wednesday nights together often. A few seconds later, his bed and room began to shake and Rosenthal jumped out of bed to see what was happening. Not only were they working against the instability of the structure, but rescuers also battled underground flooding, fires,smoke and wind and rain from Tropical Storm Elsa. WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale, Damage forces evacuation of Miami Beach apartment building, Ordered to leave their homes, Crestview Towers residents speak out on evacuation, Remembering the victims of the Surfside condo collapse, How you can help those impacted by the condo collapse in Surfside, Coral Gables resident still refuses to sell decades-old home surrounded by massive development, Broward County pastor faces several fraud, grand theft charges after defrauding church, Gunman dead after hours-long SWAT standoff at SW Miami-Dade apartment complex, Police: Man fatally shot 3-year-old son, himself inside Coconut Grove condo, Police arrest student who made false bomb threat at Dillard High School; classes resume. "It felt like the whole building was shaking," Schechter said, adding that she went to look out the window. Albert and Janette Aguero suddenly awoke early Thursday to what they said sounded like a "really loud clap of thunder." How many people survived the Surfside condo collapse? Collapse survivors escaped with their lives, but little else WSVN-TVSunbeam Television Corp She convinced him to have a beer at the dining room table. As many as nine victims, or about 10% of the death toll, remained alive and buried under the mountains of debris after parts of the 12-story residential building in Surfside, a quiet neighborhood just outside of Miami Beach, caved in on June 24 around 1:25 a.m. A mother and daughter who survived the Florida condo collapse that killed 98 people describe how they survived falling when the floor gave way. And there were two men and a young man with us, and they were helping us. A 15-year-old boy who miraculously survived the Miami condo collapse was sitting in his bedroom next to his mother when the building gave way and she was killed, according to a lawsuit filed by . Unnerving footage from INSIDE Miami condo in seconds before building Heavy machinery is used to remove a support column as search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building on Friday. Pancake collapses: What they are and why they're dangerous | CNN Rescue crews . She kept telling me what to do. It was not a clap of thunder and it wasn't a storm; it was something else," Albert Aguero told ABC News' T.J. Holmes in an interview Friday on "Good Morning America.". I thought a bomb - I mean, that was my first - when I saw that building missing, I mean, I was like, I have to get out of here. Nicholas Balboa was walking his dog around midnight when he felt the ground shake. Nine of the 98 Surfside victims may have SURVIVED the initial condo collapse: Fire rescue logs show woman was alive in rubble for TEN HOURS. All content Copyright 2000 - 2023 WSVN-TV. Since the collapse, Balboa said he has replayed that moment in his mind many times, wondering what he could have done differently to save more people, he told CNN. She quickly grabbed her dog and tried to evacuate, along with other residents, down the only staircase that was available. Rosenthal said it is a miracle that he managed to escape because many of his neighbors' apartments were on the L-shaped tower that collapsed. We reached out to a Surfside spokesperson for a response but did not hear back. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. A woman who survived the collapse of a condo building in Florida said she escaped by climbing through the rubble in the dark with her dog. Surfside Collapse Survivor Finds Starting Over Isn't Easy For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service. But, at this point, nothing to indicate that.". I see cars going inwards, underneath the building underneath the building is the car garage. Everything I owned was in that apartment, but I don't care. How long can survivors of Miami high-rise collapse survive under rubble? 'One Unit Over, and I'm Gone': Survivors of Surfside Building Collapse I had just taken all of my mother's pictures - all the pictures of our family to that condo two days before that because I was going to sort them all out. ALVAREZ: I can't imagine. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, She kept telling me what to do. A family who survived the Surfside condominium collapse said they were mere feet from losing their lives. MIAMI (CBSMiami) - For the fortunate who survived the collapse of the Champlain Towers South in late June, getting basic help early on was simple. ", She made her way to a nearby stairwell and tried to exit on the pool deck, but the door was jammed. During times like this, they are very good. The 60-year-old told WPLG she had to climb over rubble through the dark with her dog. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. "I lost everything," Alvarez said, "and it doesnt mean anything to me.". A "substantial number" of the condominium's residents are from overseas and "almost a third" of those reported missing are foreign citizens, according to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. I had this beautiful condo by the beach. "We're lucky to be here.". Yes. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Where are you staying right now? Only three survived the initial collapse. What are you thinking at this moment? Remarkable stories of Surfside condo residents who survived by - WPLG GARCIA-NAVARRO: It sounds like you want answers. The second body was pulled out a short while later. "We said, 'We have to run, don't take anything,'" Longobardi recalled during an interview Friday on "GMA" with ABC News' T.J. Holmes. I just ran out. I can't imagine. "That was a very difficult night . The 101-pageproposal included provisions helping ensure corporations stay up to speed on maintenance and inspections. Did you encounter any technical issues? And I don't know - we just - we climbed out of rubble. she told WPLG. Alfredo and Marian Lopez were sound asleep around 1:30 a.m. Thursday when they heard the first boom, like a crash of thunder from a Florida . Alvarez is still dealing with the trauma. Authorities have opened a family assistance center at the Surfside recreational center for individuals unable to locate loved ones who live in the Champlain Towers South. A total of 20 agencies are offering assistance to families affected by the collapse. He ran to his apartment to drop off his dog, and when he returned to the wreckage, he heard screaming under the rubble. Victor Oquendo, Emily Shapiro, Ben Stein, Christine Theodorou and Nery Ynclan contributed to this report. It was destroyed in the collapse, but thanks to the persistent nature of his significant other, he is still alive today. "We're just lost. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. "That number is way up from the original count, and so we're very, very grateful for the hard work of our firefighters on the scene," Levine Cava told ABC News' Cecelia Vega in an interview Friday on "GMA. At least 34 lawsuits have been filed by families of victims since the collapse, accusing building officials, the condo board and others of ignoring structural defects. The collapsed condo was about to begin . Paolo Longobardi, who lives in the Champlain Towers South with his wife and two children, said he also awoke to loud noises and saw part of the building collapse. Rattled, she got dressed, grabbed some essentials andbegan the trek out. ALVAREZ: Yes. And a warning, this is a harrowing conversation but an important one. Balboa said he told the uncle, Sorry I couldnt get to his sister faster.. I go as near as I can. I ran to the balcony. I looked forward, which is where the elevator shaft is, and it was just a hole," Albert Aguero recalled. They were the nicest couple. Florida building collapse survivors recount escapes, loved ones wait But on Thursday, exactly two weeks after the 12-story . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The familys condo was on the ninth floor of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. "I feel like I'm mourning every minute for someone in the building," she said. They were both identified by the Miami-Dade Police Department on June 26. "These folks that we are serving, who we know they are having the worst experience of their lives, are turning around and asking you what can they do to serve," Logan said. "Without hesitation, I did exactly what she told me. Did anyone survive the collapse Surfside? - Daily Justnow Steven Rosenthalwasasleepin a corner unit of the12-story Champlain Towers South buildingthat collapsed last Thursday when he heard the loudest thunderclap times a hundred that I ever heard in my life.. Usually it's hard for me to sleep because you have the screaming echoing in my mind and it just brings those flashbacks. The action authorizes the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) "to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in Miami-Dade County," according to a statement from the White House.