Condo collapse … Heads will roll

hank

Heartbreaking story. “There but for the grace of God go I - or my loved ones”.

Tendency for humans to “look the other way” & sweep things under the carpet. We saw it in both deadly crashes of the Space Shuttle as well the 737 Max story.

This will get interesting. How much were the owners management people aware of? Were building inspectors or regulators bribed, AWOL or unfit for their jobs? I expect a lot of heads to roll here both on the private end, but also some in government. The lawyers must be lining up in Miami as the smoke clears. Not meant to diminish the human tragedy. My condolence to those affected. Likely some here will find out they knew someone that perished.

“Three years before the deadly collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium complex near Miami, a consultant found alarming evidence of “major structural damage” to the concrete slab below the pool deck and “abundant” cracking and crumbling of the columns, beams and walls of the parking garage under the 13-story building.

“The engineer’s report helped shape plans for a multimillion-dollar repair project that was set to get underway soon — more than two and a half years after the building managers were warned — but the building suffered a catastrophic collapse in the middle of the night on Thursday, trapping sleeping residents in a massive heap of debris.”

Not sure why the NYT didn’t block my access to the story without subscription.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/26/us/miami-building-collapse-investigation.html

LewisBraham

+1

carew388

The NYT was providing free COVID-19 coverage, so maybe they're providing free coverage for major continuing news stories, in the hopes that readers like what they see and decide to spring for a paid subscription !

Sven

Many buildings close to the ocean are very susceptible to the rising sea level and weak underlying ground material. In Florida porous limestone and ancient corals are commonly found where these tall structures are built on. Underground parking structures use sum pumps routinely in order to keep them usable. This building’s collapse is just an example of the consequence of rising sea level. Similar to the drought and elevated wildfire on the western states, insurance rates are going up.

hank

Sven said:

Many buildings close to the ocean are very susceptible to the rising sea level and weak underlying ground material. In Florida porous limestone and ancient corals are commonly found where these tall structures are built on. Underground parking structures use sum pumps routinely in order to keep them usable. This building’s collapse is just an example of the consequence of rising sea level. Similar to the drought and elevated wildfire on the western states, insurance rates are going up.

Thanks @Sven for the insight.

I used to vacation at a similar “condo” complex near Tampa. The term “condo” can be a little misleading. Essentially these were rental units operated by a large management company hired by the owners’ association. They ran a second unit near Key Largo. Stayed there once as well. Never encountered any year-round residents. For all intents and purposes both were operated very much like a large hotel. Considered purchasing a Tampa unit once for income, but the condition had deteriorated on a later visit to the point I never returned.

The Tampa structure was at water’s edge. Parking was underneath as they didn’t want rooms on the lower level which was subject to flooding during storms. There were frequently workers down in the parking area doing maintenance on the large concrete columns that supported the entire structure. I’m curious whether the one that collapsed was home to a lot of full time residents (who would have had an incentive to keep it maintained) or whether the rooms were mostly rented out to strangers who would have been unaware of the structure’s condition. In that case, this is even sadder and more complex.

Sven

Quote from professor Richardson,

June 29, 2021
Heather Cox Richardson
Jun 30
Last week, Florida governor Ron DeSantis became the latest Republican governor to sign a bill making it harder for citizens to shift away from the fossil fuels that are changing the climate. The move came after Miami, which is in danger as sea levels rise, proposed cutting carbon emissions by banning natural gas infrastructure in new buildings. The bill was written by lawyers for utility companies, based on a pattern written by the American Gas Association. Lobbyists for the Florida Petroleum Association, the Florida Natural Gas Association and the Florida Retail Federation, the Florida Home Builders Association, and the National Utility Contractors Association of Florida supported the bill.

Nine other Republican states have already passed similar legislation.

Republican-led states are defending the use of fossil fuels in other ways. News that President Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, was urging major U.S. banks to invest responsibly with an eye to the climate crisis, led the state treasurers of West Virginia, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and South Dakota to write to him expressing their “deep concern” that he, along with other members of the Biden administration, was pressuring banks “to refuse to lend to or invest in coal, oil, and natural gas companies, as a part of a misguided strategy to eliminate the fossil fuel industry in our country.” They accused the Biden administration of “picking economic winners and losers” according to “Biden’s own radical political preferences,” and thus depriving “the people” of agency.

Coal, oil, and natural gas are crucial to their states’ economies, they said, providing “jobs, health insurance, critical tax revenue, and quality of life.” They warned that they would withhold public funds from any banks that refused to lend to fossil fuel industries.

Derf

@Sven : I think U posted to wrong conversation (topic).
Derf