2018 report warned of significant structural damage to collapsed building in Miami

In 2018, three years before the Champlain Towers condominium collapse in Miami, a consultant found alarming evidence of “significant structural damage” to the concrete slab under the pool deck and cracks and “abundant” collapses in columns, beams and walls. from the establishment’s car park, As reported The New York Times.

The engineer’s report prompted the plans for a multi-million dollar repair project are expected to begin shortly, but the building collapsed early Thursday morning, leaving four dead and more than 150 missing.

City officials released the 2018 report late Friday, detailing the full nature of the damage to concrete and rebar, possibly caused by years of exposure to sea air Corrosive along the south coast of Florida.

“While some of this damage is minor, most of the deterioration in concrete needs to be repaired in a timely manner.”, the consultant had warned Franck Morabito on damage near the base of the structure in its October 2018 report, according to the New York Times. He provided no indication that the structure was in danger of collapsing, although he noted that the necessary repairs would aim to “maintain the structural integrity” of the building and its 136 units.

Morabito explained that the purpose of his report was understand and document the extent of structural problems that would require repairs or corrective action.

“These documents will allow the Co-ownership Council properly assess the general condition of the building, inform tenants how they might be affected and provide a safe and functional infrastructure for the future“, He added in his report.

The lawyer representing the residents’ association managing the building, Kenneth S. Direktor, he said that repairs were planned for this year.

“They were about to start”He said in an interview with the York Times, adding that the process would have been conducted in a very different way. if owners had any indication that corrosion and decay were a serious threat.

Commissioner Surfside, Eliana salzhauer, expressed his displeasure because, in his opinion, the collapse could have been avoided after the warnings contained in the report. “It is annoying to see these documents because the board of directors of the condominium has clearly realized that there are problems and it seems that they have not been resolved”, he assured, according to the New York Times.

Investigators have yet to identify the cause of the collapse and they are waiting for full access to where rescue teams continue to search the rubble for missing people.

Experts noted that the process of assessing the possible causes that produced the collapse could take months. He understands an examination of the individual building elements that may now be buried in the rubble, testing of concrete to assess its integrity, and an examination of the ground below to see if a sinkhole or other subsidence was responsible for the collapse.

The building had recently started a recertification process, a requirement for 40-year-old structures that have withstood Florida’s coastal hurricanes, storm surges and corrosive salt air It can penetrate concrete and rust interior rebar and steel beams.

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