A Florida high rise that collapsed early Thursday was determined to be unstable a year ago, according to a researcher at Florida International University.
The …
A Florida high rise that collapsed early Thursday was determined to be unstable a year ago, according to a researcher at Florida International University. The building, which was constructed in 1981, has been sinking at an alarming rate since the 1990s, according to a 2020 study conducted by Shimon Wdowinski, a professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at Florida International University. When he saw the news that the condo had collapsed, he instantly remembered it from the study, Wdowinski said. “I looked at it this morning and said ‘Oh my god.’ We did detect that,” he said. Wdowinski said his research is not meant to suggest any certainty about what caused the collapse of the condominium. The building was sinking at a rate of about 2 millimeters a year in the 1990s, and the sinking could have slowed or accelerated in the time since. In his experience, Wdowinski said even the level of sinking observed in the 1990s typically results in impacts to buildings and their structures. He believes that very well could have been the case for the Champlain building in the 1990s, based on his findings. “It was a byproduct of analyzing the data. We saw this building had some kind of unusual movement,” Wdownski said. But Daniel Deitch, who served as Surfside’s mayor from 2010-2020, warned against drawing conclusions too soon. “This is an extraordinarily unusual event and it is dangerous and counterproductive to speculate on its cause,” he said. Workers continued to sort through the rubble Thursday afternoon. Officials have said 35 people were rescued and confirmed at least two deaths, saying they expect the death toll to rise.
