Condo collapse: Mayor of Surfside says security will be tightened at place, which he says is a “holy site”

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Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said he was speaking with city officials and the families of the victims to discuss future plans at the site.

“I first want to address something that is becoming more and more evident as the operation continues – and that is the importance of this site to the people who have lost their lives there,” said said the mayor during a briefing Monday. . “It is the right thing to do because it is obvious that it has become more than a collapsed site, it is a holy place.”

Crews recovered four more bodies from the rubble on Monday, bringing the total number of victims to 94.

So far, 83 people have been identified, and 80 of their families have been notified, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at the briefing. Nine other people were identified on Monday, the mayor said.

Among those identified over the weekend was Cassondra “Cassie” Stratton, who was in her unit at Champlain Towers South when she called her husband in the early morning of the collapse.
A 2020 report found that the Surfside condo lacked funds for necessary repairs. An expert called it a

“Her husband, Mike, and his family once again thank everyone who prayed for Cassie over the past two weeks and reiterated their undying gratitude to the rescue workers whose courage and determination were unmatched,” the firm said Monday. attorneys for her husband, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. .

Michael Stratton had told the Miami Herald that his wife had called him and “was talking frantically about the shake in their condominium.”

The report added: “She told him she saw a sinkhole, where the pool was by the window. Then the line stopped.”

Stratton’s death is one of many gruesome stories to emerge from the tragic collapse, in which the victims ranged from three to 92 years old and whose stories reflected the region’s rich cultural diversity.

All the lost family

Among these victims was the family of Marcelo Cattarossi. He told CNN on Monday that he had lost five family members in the collapse: his parents, two sisters and his niece.

He became moved when talking about his 7 year old niece, Stella, who had been the light in the life of his mother Graciela and her grandparents. Drawing inspiration from his family of artists, Stella had already started painting, he told CNN.

Stella’s father was a Miami firefighter.
Stella and Graciela Cattarossi were killed along with three other family members.

Marcello Cattarossi said his parents, Gino, 89, and Graciela, 86, met in New York City almost 70 years ago. The anchors of his family, they were what he described as “adventurous” and “fearless”.

Cattarossi said his father was a civil engineer, who immigrated from Argentina, before moving the family to Miami in the late 1980s.

His mother kept the house filled with art and books and spoke several languages, he said. “[My mother] could make a perfect drawing, ”Cattarossi said.

His sister, Andrea Cattarossi, 56, was an architect and a genius, he said.

Text from unanswered son, two sisters buried together, a newlywed couple and a 60-year love affair: what we know about the victims of the collapse

She was visiting her parents and younger sister when the building collapsed. Andrea Cattarossi leaves three sons in Argentina.

His other sister, Graciela Cattarossi, 48, was a professional photographer and a free spirit, he said.

He remembers once the family was waiting for Graciela to show up for dinner. “Nobody knows where she was. And then we’ll get a phone call. And then she said, ‘Oh no, I just landed in Greece. And I’m here to take pictures. And I’ll see you next week. . ‘”

Cattarossi said despite his loss: “My family was fantastic and it’s always going to be fantastic.”

Challenges remain at the site of the collapse

Twenty-two people are still missing, Levine Cava said.

“The identification process has become more difficult over time,” said the mayor. “We have to rely heavily on the work of the medical examiner’s office (…) to identify the human remains. The process is very methodical and it is careful and it takes time,” she said.

Crews have worked at the site almost non-stop since the June 24 collapse and issues such as weather conditions and the movement of debris created dangerous conditions, forcing crews to stop intermittently.
Levine Cava said there had been a few interruptions over the weekend due to lightning and she expects crews to be embarrassed again this week due to weather issues.
Evidence of Surfside condo collapse accumulates day by day, but investigation could take years

“The weather service is always integrated with our on-site teams so that we can get real-time updates to make sure that with any weather change, our first responders are protected from the elements for their safety,” he said. she declared. time over the next few days, so we would expect there to be a few brief breaks. “

As workers continue their recovery efforts, they face several hardships including the painful reality of their mission, the dangerous nature of the work as well as the threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Jose “Pepe” Diaz and Chief of Staff Isidoro Lopez both self-isolated after testing positive for the virus, according to a press release from Diaz’s office Monday. Diaz had helped other local officials in Surfside after the collapse.

Earlier this month, Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said at least six search and rescue personnel had been diagnosed with the virus.

The outbreak was among one of the Florida teams but originated outside of Miami-Dade, he said.

CNN’s Tina Burnside, Kevin Conlon, Jason Morris and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.

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