ALVAREZ: Not to that extent. They were both identified by the Miami-Dade Police Department on June 26. I looked forward, which is where the elevator shaft is, and it was just a hole," Albert Aguero recalled. They then descended to the garage where they encountered shin-deep water, ultimatelyescaping Alfredo with a woman frozen from shock hoisted over his shoulder through an opening in acrumbled wall. She hasn't slept in a bed since the collapse a week ago. That was my home. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Susana Alvarez, who lived on the 10th floor of the building that collapsed in Surfside, Florida. Nicholas Balboa was walking his dog around midnight when he felt the ground shake. An aerial view showing a partially collapsed building in Surfside near Miami Beach, Fla., June 24, 2021. Scene at family reunification center, where 'it's the waiting that's getting to me' The familys condo was on the ninth floor of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. A woman who survived the collapse of a condo building in Florida said she escaped by climbing through the rubble in the dark with her dog. And that, to me, is the worst thing, and that's all I want back. Steve Rosenthal said he was woken up when he heard a loud noise and felt his unit shaking. I just ran out. At approximately 1:20 a.m. on June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story, 136-unit condo building at 8777 Collins Ave., Surfside . Initially, 150 people were thought to be missing. The National Institute of Standards and Technology,the main federal agency conducting the probe, has said it expects the investigation to take at least two years, as every piece of evidence must be thoroughly analyzed, and all hypotheses evaluated,according to its latest statement. Raysa Rodriguez, a retired postal worker who lived at Champlain Towers South for 17 years and was close to paying off her mortgage, described in a lawsuit she filed against the condominium association how crashing sounds roused her from bed the night of the collapse. The condo collapse in Surfside, Florida has a Loudoun County man relieving and retelling his own horror story, after he was rescued from an apartment building collapse 20 years ago. About the . Schechter said as soon as she got out, all she could think about were her neighbors that might have still been inside. "Its nothing short of amazing.". Copyright 2021 NPR. The public may view the reports by going to WSVN.com and clicking on "FCC Public File", or by visiting the FCC's website at FCC.org. Reach him at JDelgado@gannett.com. July 5, 2021 4 . So far, they have rescued 35 people who were trapped in the building and two others from beneath the rubble, according to Jadallah. I mean, the bed was shaking. A class-action complaint updated on Nov. 10 alleges that the towers were badly damaged and destabilized because of excavation and construction at the neighboring 18-story Eighty Seven Park condominium, according to court documents. But on Thursday, exactly two weeks after the 12-story . Please enter valid email address to continue. Jen Psaki offers to help coordinate rescue of US citizens Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, Buster Murdaugh got 'very drunk' with dad 2 months after mom, brother murdered: source, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, Prince Harry was scared to lose Meghan Markle after fight that led to therapy, Prince Harry says psychedelics are fundamental part of his life, Inside Scheana Shay, Raquel Leviss heated confrontation about Tom Sandoval affair, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant allegedly flashes gun at a strip club, Tom Sizemore And The Dangerous Burden of Desperation, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. More than 150 people were unaccounted for after a high-rise condo building partially collapsed near Miami Beach early Thursday, leaving at least four people dead and 11 injured, officials said . Emergency personnel work at the site of a partially collapsed building in Surfside near Miami Beach, Fla., June 24, 2021. ", "I'm very hopeful because we have the best team in the world. (Sara Nir) RIGHT: A bedroom in the Nir's apartment, Unit 111, before the collapse . Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. "I don't think I've really processed what happened.". That's when the family started hearing loud noises. I mean, I know that sounds silly, but that's all I want, my cat back. Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Friends she's staying with outfitted her with new clothes and a computer. OfeOsin-Cohen, anotherfourth-floor resident who escaped,told NBC's "Today" showshewassound asleepwhen she hearda weird sound and feltthe building shake. I could hear people crying and screaming for help, Lopez told the Herald. We're here! Sara and Eyal Nir have six kids and two of them, Gabe and Chani, moved into the condominium building with them. All rights reserved. "For some reason, we all were doing things later than usual. The 12-story residential complex in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach, partially collapsed before 1:30 a.m. local time on Thursday. And their daughter was staying there. I dont even want to think about it, shesaid. The family's condo was on the ninth floor of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. Still, friends and even complete strangers have been helping replace what she's lost. He said he awoke around 1:15 a.m. to a shaking building and swaying chandeliers. It's still unclear what caused the condominium, which has withstood decades of hurricanes, to partially collapse. Did anyone survive the Surfside collapse? The family's condo was on the ninth floor of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. Areas where land is subsiding are more likely to experience more serious effects of sea level rise, according to the study, which was published in the international journal Ocean & Coastal Management. They have no luggage. The NIST received $22 million in supplemental funding from Congress to complete its investigation. Survivors of Surfside condo collapse speak out 03:45 Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. I see cars going inwards, underneath the building underneath the building is the car garage. She kept telling me what to do. Its a miracle. Albert Aguero and his family had asimilarclose call. I (opened) the doors and a wall of dust hit me," she said in the filing. A mother and daughter who survived the Florida condo collapse that killed 98 people describe how they survived falling when the floor gave way. Sharon Schechter, 60, described her escape to WPLG, saying she believes she was only one of two people who survived from her floor when the 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South near Miami partially collapsed early Thursday morning. The Miami Herald, in a multimedia investigative story,reported last December that the collapse beganwhen the ground-floor parking area and pool deck caved in, and found that design failures, shoddy construction, damage and neglect over the past 40 years lined up like dominoes to create the perfect conditions for a deadly chain reaction.. It wasnt about my home. The June 24 collapse killed 97 people 96 bodies were pulled from the debris and one died at a hospital after being removed and one person who is missing has still not been identified among the remains. We reached out to a Surfside spokesperson for a response but did not hear back. With her dog in her arms, she had to climb through rubble and over cars to escape. Firefighters on Friday declared the end of their search for bodies at the site of a collapsed Florida condo building, concluding a month of painstaking work removing . The group came up against rubble blocking their path. A total of 20 agencies are offering assistance to families affected by the collapse. I thought it was a wonderful property because I was so happy. A few seconds later, his bed and room began to shake and Rosenthal jumped out of bed to see what was happening. "That was a very difficult night . GARCIA-NAVARRO: And have you been back to the building? Thats a horrifying thought, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told the outlet. The 101-pageproposal included provisions helping ensure corporations stay up to speed on maintenance and inspections. The collapsed condo was about to begin . When they opened their door, they sawsky and beach where their neighbors doors had once stood. But, at this point, nothing to indicate that.". They were always, always offering assistance. I run to the hallway, cloud of dust slams into me. At least 34 lawsuits have been filed by families of victims since the collapse, accusing building officials, the condo board and others of ignoring structural defects. But the staircase directly outside their unit was collapsing, he said, so they had to find another one. Deven survived the partial collapse of a condo tower near Miami. Michael Capponi, the president of a Miami-area nonprofit that for the past decade has helped victims of disasters from hurricanes to wildfires in the U.S. and abroad, said he has personally dealt with 50 people who lost homes in the building. Families deserve to know what really happened to their loved ones. Nine of the 98 Surfside victims may have SURVIVED the initial condo collapse: Fire rescue logs show woman was alive in rubble for TEN HOURS. Without hesitation, I did exactly what she told me. I was sleeping, and I heard the loudest thunderclap Ive heard in my life times 100, he said. The remains belonged to Estelle Hedaya, 54, according to a statement from the Miami-Dade Police. Did Mavericks kneel during national anthem. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Survivors recount harrowing escape from collapsed condo. She kept telling me what to do. Yes, I want answers. The people that lived there were good, good people that didn't deserve this. (CNN) After several weeks of searching and waiting for news on victims from the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, all 242 people have been accounted for. ALVAREZ: It was. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Newsroom: (305) 795-2777. Memorial services are planned throughout the day, including a private event with family members and survivorsat the precise moment of the collapse 1:22 a.m. A public ceremony is planned later in the day. Several of their pets also went missing. Your cat's name was Mia (ph), right? Market data provided by Factset. The family's condo was on the ninth floor of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue workers search through the rubble for survivors after a condo building partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, on June 24, 2021. Elected officials told the paper that first responders lacked adequate resources and the experience in dealing with such a massive and catastrophic incident. 1401 79th Street Causeway ", Workers load a stretcher with remains extricated from the rubble into a Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner van, near the Champlain Towers South condo building on Friday. De Moura lived in unit 1004. As the search for survivors enters itsfifth day,those who escaped are recounting harrowingtales of survival after last weeks condo collapse in Surfside. And my mom decided to stay later at her event, my sister decided to come back home late," he said. We talked until 1 in the morning, De Moura said. Gabriel Nir narrowly escaped a first-floor apartment with his mother and 15-year-old sister. He said there was water damage to the complex, but that is common for oceanfront properties and wouldn't have caused the collapse. That was my home. And I should've gone back for her. First published on July 14, 2021 / 2:21 PM. At least four people have been confirmed dead and 159 others remain unaccounted for. But, I mean, I can't get into the building. Search and rescue personnel work onsite after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla., north of Miami Beach, on June 24, 2021. ALVAREZ: I am near the building. Nearly 20 people were rescued from the rubble of the World Trade Center following the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava speaks to ABC News for an interview on "Good Morning America" on June 25, 2021. Yes. Some of the victims of the devastating condo collapse in Surfside, Fla., may have been alive for hours after the building first caved in but were never found alive by rescue teams, a report said Tuesday. Nir, a recent college graduate, was living there while he looked for a job and considered medical school. GARCIA-NAVARRO: As you just heard there, Ms. Alvarez said that the residents of Champlain Towers were reassured by a representative from the town of Surfside that the building was safe. A Miami-Dade county official told ABC News that there's real concern about the structural integrity of the remaining building, particularly from dangling wires and portions of concrete. Susana Alvarez fled her home on the 10th floor of Champlain Towers South, escaping with her life and almost nothing else. Fire-rescue logs obtained by the paper showed that search dogs found signs of life in the Champlain Towers South wreckage site multiple times in the hours after the 1:25 a.m. collapse. The announcement came after search and rescue operations were paused for hours because of growing signs the structure was dangerously unstable. She did - to yoga with me. And I ran, and I ran. And I feel like fate really God really came and saved us," he said. Can you tell us what happened? About six months ago, the Nir family moved to Surfside, Florida. Florida Gov. A jagged five-foot chunk of flooring barely left enough room to escape. Rest of collapsed Miami tower brought down with explosives; 121 still missing. When Rosenthal opened his front door, he saw his hallway had been blocked by debris from the collapse. I was going to retire there. ALVAREZ: Yes. 'Like it had been hit by a missile': Residents who survived the collapse describe being inside. "I'm on the phone with 911. Surfside Resident Who Survived Condominium Collapse Wants Answers NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Susana Alvarez, who lived on the 10th floor of the building that collapsed in Surfside, Florida What we know about the building collapse so far. I have no family. Thanks for contacting us. Firefighters officially ended their search for bodies in the debris of the collapsed Surfside condo building on Friday Officials said Thursday they're making plans for the likely demolition of all parts of the building that didn't collapse. Son shares how family survived Surfside condo building collapse 03:11 About six months ago, the Nir family moved to Surfside, Florida. Published Most people who have contacted his nonprofit for help lived in the part that is still standing but assume their homes and anything inside are a complete loss. Mr. Candiotti, 67, knows he was lucky to have survived the collapse last month of the condo building in Surfside, Fla. At least 97 of his neighbors did not. "Any time we hear like, 'boom,' or just something that's very unusual, anything that brings those flashbacks, it's just terrifying and it's very traumatizing," he said. The family had just moved in six months ago. While delayed maintenance and structural complications are widely considered the cause of the collapse, manyquestions about the disasterstill remain. Just because the body gets mangled doesnt mean thats what killed you, Caprara said. (AP), LIVE UPDATES: SURFSIDE CONDO BUILDING COLLAPSE. All my friends were giving me luggage and clothes and things. They're working around the clock and they're using every possible tool," she added. Authorities tallied a total of 98 deaths in what is one of the worst building collapses in U.S. history. Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift. All I saw was cement, rubble, wood, people yelling Help me,' Rosenthal said. An eyeglass store refilled her prescription, even though she never called it in. (Liyah Deveaux) By KELLI KENNEDY. Rescue workers continued digging feverishly for a sixth day Tuesday, after stressing Monday that they could still find survivors in the rubble of a collapsed Surfside condo building. "When we measure subsidence or when we see movement of the buildings, it's worth checking why it happens," Wdowinski, who analyzed space-based radar data, said in a statement Thursday. Sara and Eyal Nir have six kids and two of them, Gabe and Chani, moved into the condominium building with them. Copyright 2023 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. Condo association "kept kicking the can down the road," according to lawyer for unit owner. Yes. But it wasn't even a minute that went by when it was - my bed started to shake like if I was on a - like I was on a ride. About four hours later, he checked his phone and found out what had happened to his home and neighbors. It was. GARCIA-NAVARRO: It doesn't sound silly. The New Jersey couple were vacationing with their two children in southern Florida, staying on the 11th floor of the oceanfront Champlain Towers South condominium in a unit owned by their parents. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. "That number is way up from the original count, and so we're very, very grateful for the hard work of our firefighters on the scene," Levine Cava told ABC News' Cecelia Vega in an interview Friday on "GMA. 903 of the Champlain Towers South. But the kindness of people has been phenomenal. As they stepped onto the beach, Alfredo said he could hear the cries for help coming from the wreckage. He cannot help but wish, though, that a . He ran to his apartment to drop off his dog, and when he returned to the wreckage, he heard screaming under the rubble. Praying that the building didnt fall on me, collapse on me. A massive search-and-rescue effort is underway following the partial collapse of a 12-story condominium building in Surfside, Miami, early June 24, 2021. Firefighterseventuallyrescued him from his fourth-floor balcony. June 2021: The collapse. Photos: Florida beachfront condo collapses, Surfside mourns victims as death toll nears 100, One year later, Surfside survivors recall collapse and healing journey, Memorial held for victims of the Surfside tragedy on anniversary of the condo collapse, Judge approves $1 billion settlement in deadly Florida condo collapse, "Voice in the rubble" victim of Surfside condo collapse is identified, Lawsuit claims construction triggered deadly condo collapse, history of maintenance and structural concerns. If the cause of death could have been multiple things, and we dont have enough evidence to say definitely what it was, we dont list possible causes.. - Latest victims in condo tower collapse include 2 children Officials said Thursday that they're making plans for the likely demolition of all parts of the building that didn't collapse. GARCIA-NAVARRO: You did the only thing you could. I look and the ceilings down, the concrete, the cement," Rosenthaltold NBC South Florida. ", Now they have to rebuild their lives from scratch. The flooded garage was located underneath the building's pool. It's like a motor it just goes fast, fast, fast," he said, adding that they don't even know where to start. Their condo in Surfside had collapsed, and they had just narrowly survived. She convinced him to have a beer at the dining room table. Town leaders fuming at obstacles to investigation, aim to sue county, Florida judge approves $83 million settlement for property loss in Surfside condo collapse, DeSantis signs condo reform bill a response to Surfside building collapse into law, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. "These folks that we are serving, who we know they are having the worst experience of their lives, are turning around and asking you what can they do to serve," Logan said. A high-rise condo building in Surfside, Florida, partially collapsed on June 24, leaving at least 95 people dead, with as many as 14 potentially still missing Tuesday afternoon. I have a good job, and I'm not destitute. The apartments were gone.. One provision stipulates that condos taller than three stories must be inspected every ten years. Once in her apartment, they made their way to the balcony and flagged down firefighters who rescued them. The uncle of a 15-year-old who survived the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida, two weeks ago called the man who found the teenager in the rubble to thank him. Those are people I say hello to. And a warning, this is a harrowing conversation but an important one. "Without hesitation, I did exactly what she told me. A massive search and rescue operation has been underway since early Thursday, as crews carefully comb through the pancaked wreckage and remaining structure in hopes of finding survivors. I closed the balcony doors. It's not known if those factors played a role in the collapse. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, 164-unit Miami Beach condo evacuated over structural concerns, A year on, Surfside remembers 98 victims of condo collapse, Florida condo collapse settlement reached, tops $1 billion, Surfside condo collapse site to be sold to Dubai developer for $120M, lost voice contactwith a female victim. A survivor of the Florida condo collapse said she had to climb through the rubble in the dark with her dog until they found light. Another requires condo owners to maintain a reserve fund to address needed repairs. Ninety-six bodies were recovered from the Champlain Towers South collapse site in Surfside, Florida, while one other victim who died at a hospital brings the official death toll to 97. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in Miami-Dade County "to provide assistance for the families impacted by the Surfside tragedy," according to the order issued Thursday evening. The disaster is now officially one of the deadliest structural building failures in American history. Furniture sits perched in the remains of apartments sheared in half, in the still standing portion of the Champlain Towers South condo building, more than a week after it partially collapsed. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories, Champlain Towers South near Miami partially collapsed, Reports: 3 children dead, 2 wounded in attack at Texas home, Kellyanne Conway, George Conway To Divorce After Decadeslong Marriage: Report, School punished teen girl for working out in sports bra in 100-degree Texas heat, ACLU says, U.S. court won't require FAA to make airplane seat size, spacing rules, 'Extremely dangerous': Spike in illegal crossings at Canada-Vermont border has feds sounding alarm, SoCal in for cool start to weekend, butlight showers make brief return, Friday Nightcap: Winners & losers of the week, Two boats, carrying 48 Cuban migrants, make landing on Dry Tortugas in Florida Keys, Big rigs flipped by strong winds during severe weather. A Haitian man once survived for two weeks within the wreckage of a building after a . Your email address will not be published. Far more people have not been as fortunate; 32 people have been confirmed dead, and 113 remain unaccounted for as teams urgently search through the rubble for signs of life, officials said Tuesday. The death . "It's very hard for us to even think about these people that are not there with us anymore," he said. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. An attorney for James River Insurance Company wrote to the judge in one case this week that it plans to "voluntarily tender its entire limit" from the associations policy toward resolving claims. The building's shocking anddevastating collapselast month killed at least 97 people inside but the Nirs managed to get out alive. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. They chose to live in Champlain Towers South. Alvarez is still dealing with the trauma. "That's kind of what's hard.". (AP). Live Updates: Miami-Area Condo Collapse Rescue crews race to find scores of people still missing in the wreckage Binx The Cat, A Survivor Of The Florida Condo Collapse, Was Reunited With His Family I think that it was a progressive evolution, and every hour that went by, we continued to add resources.. And the stairs were all full of rubble. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. And I remember telling 911, 'I can't explain anything right now, you guys have to come here ASAP,'" he said. Albert Aguero (top left), his wife Janette Aguero (bottom right), his son Justin Willis (top right) and his daughter Athena Aguero (bottom left) speak to ABC News for an interview on "Good Morning America" in Surfside, Fla. on June 25, 2021. Everything I owned was in that apartment, but I don't care. While the family is still dealing with the trauma of that night, Gabe said he thinks fate kept them alive. Balboa flagged a police officer and other rescuers, who helped pull the teenager out to safety. At a news conference Monday, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced that the final missing persons family had been notified following the identification of the individuals remains, formally ending the search. "My initial reaction is wow, we were so lucky. We talked aboutitand we say it's about 15 feet that we survived by, if we had been 15 feet to the right, it would have gone down, or half of the apartment would have gone down," Aguero said. The uncle of a 15-year-old who survived the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida, two weeks ago called the man who found the teenager in the rubble to thank him. And I don't know - we just - we climbed out of rubble. Heavy machinery is used to remove a support column as search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building on Friday. As of Friday night, at least four people were confirmed dead and 159 people were unaccounted for as search crews continued to work through the wreckage. It just makes us really grateful, but also sad. U.S. President Joe Biden subsequently approved an emergency declaration in Florida and ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts in the wake of the partial building collapse. 0:41. "Panic starts to set in, like we need to really run, because I don't know if the rest of it is coming down. . During times like this, they are very good. And there was maybe two apartments left in my floor, and I banged on their doors. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. "The chandeliers and the pendant lights [were] just swaying completely, and that was not normal. And I hear car alarms going off, I see lights flashing everywhere. The final missing person in the condominium building collapse in Surfside, Florida has been recovered and identified, according to the Miami-Dade County mayor. I wish I had had different shoes on, he said, noting he was wearing flip flops at the time. The roof was also undergoing work and the entire building had been under scrutiny due to potential construction projects nearby, officials said. "We were just tremendously lucky.". Sara was at an event, Chani was babysitting and Gabe, a night owl, had gone to the gym. I have friends in Surfside. "The building swayed like a sheet of paper. Rosenthal said it is a miracle that he managed to escape because many of his neighbors' apartments were on the L-shaped tower that collapsed. No one ever, ever, ever told us that this - that that building was in such bad shape - no one, no one. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Where are you staying right now? Condo building's collapse prompts historic search-and-rescue response 4:54 p.m. From the man who hugged me when I went out there to that beach, and I was all alone out there - and I have no idea who he was - to the security guard in the building next door - the luxury building next door who came out and grabbed me and said, you're coming with me. "It was pitch black. So Sara went to the front lobby to talk to the security guard. It's still unclear what caused the condominium, which has withstood decades of hurricanes, to partially collapse. The couple fled down the emergencystairwell, but couldn't open the lobby door. It was like a sandstorm. Despite a search and rescue effort that went on for weeks, no signs of life were found past the morning of the collapse on June 24. Thats how we got out.. It was destroyed in the collapse, but thanks to the persistent nature of his significant other, he is still alive today. The images that I saw looks like some place that had a bomb, Figueiredo said. Alfredo and Marian Lopez were sound asleep around 1:30 a.m. Thursday when they heard the first boom, like a crash of thunder from a Florida .

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