Miami condo collapse: Engineer previously warned of issues, report says

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Search intensifies for signs of life after Florida condo collapse

Fox News correspondent Jonathan Serrie updates on the recovery efforts in Surfside, Fla. on 'Special Report'

Documents released by the Florida town of Surfside show a number of safety issues raised ahead of the 40-year inspection for the condo complex that partially collapsed Thursday. 

City officials released a number of documents online, including evaluations of electrical and mechanical systems, another unverified inspection report, and roof and façade maintenance reports, among others.

One such report paints a picture of a building riddled with possible issues that the Champlain Towers South Condo Board needed to address, and any investigation will likely focus on how much effort the board put into addressing the report’s concerns. 

The 2018 report by Morabito Consultants, Inc. (MC) examined the Champlain Towers South condo complex and aimed "to understand and document the extent of structural issues that require repair/and or remediation in the immediate or near future." The report did not indicate any risk of collapse, but it did note the need for repairs to maintain the "structural integrity" of the building.  

Photos from the Morabito Consultants, Inc. report showing damage to the concrete of the Champlain Towers South condo complex in Surfside, Florida. 

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The report noted a number of issues, citing previous complaints of flooding "during a hurricane event," possible structural damage to balconies and cracks in the concrete of unit balconies. 

MC examined the roof of the building, according to its report, which it noted as "satisfactory condition" with no "present" leaks, but it did point out some minor cracks and ways to fix them. 

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Speculation around the cause of the building’s collapse has so far centered around either how fast the building was sinking into the ground or the roof construction that was occurring at the time. 

The construction noise was so severe that residents had complained, with at least one resident already looking to leave just three months after moving into the building. 

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A 2020 study on sea-level rise and sinking land in buildings in both Miami and Norfolk, Virginia, found that some structures were losing 1 to 3 mm per year since the 1990s. Speculation in the Surfside collapse could likely shift in the days ahead to possibly neglected safety issues.  

Kenneth S. Direktor, a lawyer for the resident association that operates the building, said this week that the repairs had been set to commence, The New York Times reported. The repair plan was drawn up this year in order to address the imminent 40-year inspection. 

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The 40-year requirement was enacted after a 1974 building collapse in Miami.