Miami condo collapse

It’s an awful thing, probably going to be dozens of fatalities.
I’m curious what failed to cause it? Anyone on here in rhe trades have a guess? (I’m thinking cracked concrete allowing salt from humid air to eat the rebar, but I’d like an educated opinion).
Patrick

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...search-rescue-efforts-authorities/5332369001/

 

I don’t know for sure, but I do like your theory Patrick

 

I seen a show were they did a story on a project in Florida where the rebar was rotting away and destroyed the integrity of the concrete. As far as I know they are supposed to be using epoxy coated rebar now in areas subject to corrosion including public pools.

 

Terrible tragedy, I hope they find most people alive.

If I had to speculate I'd say it was sinkhole related. I read the article and in the 90's someone noticed the building was sinking a lot.

 

That would be my guess. It's hard to manage water/ run off when the entire state is 7' above sea level.

 

As the owner of an Ocean Front Condo about a 100 miles north on a barrier Island, and looking eerily similar to this, I say yikes!

I love the place, but often wonder about the construction integrity given the constant salt exposure and wind pounding the building takes....

Agree though that a sinkhole is likely the cause.

 

We’re supposed to stay in a similar building in Daytona next month (as we have several times before) and I am now nervous about it.
I do wonder about a sinkhole. I can’t tell if that building has an underground parking garage but most of Daytona’s buildings do. Either way I would think the piling system (main structure is built atop ‘stilts’ driven deep into the earth) would mean sinking ground wouldn’t matter.
Patrick

 

At this point, the cause of the collapse is just speculation. I have several ideas, but will remain silent until I have some actual information about it.

 

I feel bad for the people and families involved. Who would think that the building you live in would collapse? I hope they find some more survivors.

 

CBS news this morning was interviewing a local that said there was some construction going on at that building. My first thought was a sink hole also

 

Doesn't truly need to be a full-on classic sinkhole -- just limited foundation erosion around a few critical pilings. We don't really get those hugecm sinkholes down here

 

wow!!! thats crazy.
At least they still get to use the pool
johnny

 

It's a sad situation when you aren't safe in your home, hopefully they get enough information to prevent others from going through the same thing!

Bob H.

 

There was major roofing work going on and construction next door.

At this point we're all just internet certified civil engineers speculating. Could be a lot things. Major sinkholes aren't normal in that area, but not impossible. That building was built in the 80's during the cocaine boom when lots of shady construction dealings were happening, could be some questionable practices. It was due for a mandatory 40 year thorough inspection, didn't quite happen. Under ground-level parking garage support failure. A Florida professor is already claiming he discovered it sinking in the 90's. All sorts of possibilities at this point. Fact is, it's sad that many Innocents lost there lives for doing little more than being home. The MDFR USAR team is regarded as one of the best in the business and you can bet they're working their asses off to try and save people. What a sucky deal.

 

The prof said ‘2mm/year’. That’s less than two inches in the 20 years since he discovered it, but two inches, rusty swollen rebar, crumbling concrete…
It interesting that the middle sheared off the the two end sections. What really sucks is the folks whose tower fell second-they had time to wake up and say ‘Holy Sh1+! , we gotta…’ before their section went. Just godawful.
Patrick

 

Look atwhat happened with the Crosstown Expressway in Tampa maybe 10 years back: test bores for pilings were fine, but three feet away where piles got driven the soil conditions were crap. Whole bunch of pilings supporting a huge elevated roadway dropped because of the undetected inconsistencies.

Could be the same kind of issues, especially if subsidence over the years had been detected. Some pilings were holding the building up; some may have just been hanging off the building. Finally got to be too much.

Tell ya what, gonna be a whole lot of foundation inspections going on around here.

 

Yep. Florida isn’t short of lawyers, either…
I can imagine this being fodder for Carl Hiassen’s next novel.

Patrick

 

Amazing only one (1) officially perished so far ?!?!
But they have 99 missing, maybe more, and they have workers and equipment on the scene all 24 hours....

Let's all pray for more miraculous rescues, and less recoveries...

And, the corps of engineers and building superintendents need to study what happened here, so it doesn't happen again, for sure....

 

Sink hole sounds like it to me.....you are not building on solid ground in Florida.....and the water is right there......

Peace WildBill

 

Video of a boy getting pulled out the rubble....... Why is his hair and clothing so clean??????
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/peo...llapsed-condo-building-in-surfside/vi-AALnKkG