Hundreds of search-and-rescue workers in Surfside, Florida. are fending off rain and wind from Tropical Storm Elsa on Tuesday as they continue to look for remains and – a remote possibility now – survivors at the site of a collapsed condominium building.
The death toll now stands at 32 after four victims were identified Tuesday, and 113 people are still unaccounted for at Champlain Towers South, Miami-Dade County Democratic Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a news conference. Of the dead, 26 have been identified, said Levine Cava, who noted that authorities “want to confirm every single account” of those who remain unaccounted for. She added that only 70 of the 113 unaccounted for are confirmed to have been inside the building at the time of the partial collapse.
“We know that waiting for news is unbearable,” she said on the 13th day of the search.
While officials remain adamant that the goal is to find survivors, the mission has become more difficult because of the impending tropical storm that caused search efforts to be paused early Tuesday. Hope of finding survivors has also diminished nearly two weeks after the disaster. Maggie Castro, a firefighter and paramedic with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue who briefs families daily, told NBC Miami that “it is harder to see a miracle happening.”
“This is about our humanity,” Surfside Vice Mayor Tina Paul said Tuesday. “We’re broken right now, but we will be whole again.”
Parts of Florida and the Southeast are in line for heavy rain and strong winds as Elsa sweeps north from Cuba over the next several days. Republican Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez said the storm was expected to make landfall Wednesday morning, with winds potentially hitting 60 mph. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for nearly two dozen counties in the state, she said, and Floridians were told to make preparations to potentially be without power “for a few days.”
Flooding and “potential for a few tornadoes” also could complicate the rescue effort. Nuñez said Tuesday that the area, which experienced winds up to 20 mph from Elsa’s outer bands, was anticipating an increase in flash-flood conditions. Miami has seen more than three inches of rain since Monday.
Search efforts were halted at 1 a.m. Tuesday because of the wind, said Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky. The fire chief added that rescuers, who had to pump water out of the garage of what remains of the building, are looking into different strategies for how to move forward in a rescue operation that has removed 5 million pounds of concrete since June 24.
“We’re definitely searching,” Cominsky said of the search efforts. “Unfortunately, we’re not seeing anything positive.”
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis previously acknowledged that identifying victims could happen more rapidly in the coming days after the remaining portion of the condo building was demolished over the holiday weekend. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said this week that the collapse site is “busier and more active” since the beginning of the efforts.
New attention has also been turned to Frank Morabito and his firm Morabito Consultants. His knowledge of the condo building gave him and the Maryland firm a prime vantage point to detect any visible signs that the building’s integrity was in doubt. While experts and investigators caution that it is too early to reach any conclusions about the cause or causes of the collapse, surviving condo owners and relatives of the missing have begun filing lawsuits alleging that Morabito, the condo association, Surfside building officials and others ignored or missed warning signs before the June 24 catastrophe.
“We had no idea the building was in imminent danger,” Max Friedman, a former board member who is not a party in the litigation, told The Washington Post. “Why didn’t he tell us the building was going to fall down?”
Brett Marcy, a spokesman for Morabito, declined to comment but pointed to a statement last week. He and the firm “did their job, just as they have done for nearly four decades – providing expert structural engineering counsel and services,” the statement said. “And they will continue to work with the investigating authorities to understand why this structure failed, so that such a catastrophic event can never happen again.”
When asked Tuesday about the legal action taken in the days after the collapse, Levine Cava said, “The whole world wants to know what happened here.”
“I think it will be a while until everything is understood,” she said.
A spokesman for Doral, Florida, Vice Mayor Pete Cabrera, told The Post Tuesday that Cabrera is calling for the city to review the work of all projects involving Ross Prieto, who was Surfside’s building official in 2018 when he allegedly told the condo association that property was “in very good shape.” Prieto was working as Doral’s temporary building official until last week when his employer, the contractor C.A.P. Government, said he “was on a leave of absence.”
Among the dead identified this week were Ingrid Ainsworth, 66, and Tzvi Ainsworth, 68. The couple, who had moved to South Florida from Australia four years ago, had seven children and were remembered as doting grandparents known for their hospitality. They had just celebrated the birth of a grandchild a day before the collapse. Devorah Leah Phillips, the Ainsworths’ niece, remembered her aunt on Instagram as a “bucket filler.”
“She fills everyone’s bucket with an abundance of love and compliments,” she wrote. ” … You feel safe with her because you know she’ll only say kind words when you leave the room and be your secret keeper for life.”
Global Affairs Canada confirmed Tuesday that the remains of a Canadian citizen were recovered at the collapse site. At least three other Canadians remain missing, the Canadian government said.
“Canada sends its deepest condolences to the family and friends who lost a loved one in the building collapse in Surfside, Florida,” the government said.
Each day without clarity has been more difficult than the last for Ashley Dean, whose sister, Cassandra Stratton, remains missing. Dean told NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday that she continues to cling to hope.
“I can only wish and pray for some type of miracle,” Dean said.
Levine Cava did not say Tuesday when the rescue efforts for those unaccounted for would change to a recovery mission, but told reporters that family members still waiting for information on their loved ones “know what’s happening.”
“I think everybody will be ready when it’s time to move to the next phase,” she said.
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