06-27-2021, 01:59 AM
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The ground-floor pool deck of the oceanfront condominium building that collapsed near Miami was resting on a concrete slab that had “major structural damage” and needed to be extensively repaired, according to a 2018 engineering report that also uncovered “abundant cracking and spalling” of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage.
The report was among a series of documents released by the city of Surfside as rescuers continued to dig Saturday through rubble in an effort to find any of the 156 people who remain unaccounted for after the collapse. At least five people were killed.
While the engineering report from the firm of Morabito Consultants did not warn of imminent danger from the damage — and it is unclear if any of the damage observed was responsible for the collapse — it did note the need for extensive and costly repairs to fix the systemic issues with Champlain Towers South.
The report said the waterproofing under the pool deck had failed and had been improperly laid flat instead of sloped, preventing water from draining off.
“The failed waterproofing is causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas. Failure to replaced the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially,” the report said.
The firm recommended that the damaged slabs be replaced in what would be a major repair.
source at AP wire.
Comment: building collapses like this usually involve such "trauma" as an earthquake, sinkhole formation, landslide, violent attacks, or storm. Hindsight is cheap, but this condominium unit sounds like something that should have been condemned due to concerns of safety. It likely had no compelling reason for preventing demolition such as being a heritage site.
In view of its collapse it was likely unsafe for repairs. The news story suggests shoddy construction forty years ago, and anyone who expects shoddy construction to take care of itself on its own is a fool.
I can only wonder how much shoddy construction exists that puts people at undue risk in the event of earthquakes and hurricanes. Florida is not earthquake country, but it is certainly hurricane country.
The report was among a series of documents released by the city of Surfside as rescuers continued to dig Saturday through rubble in an effort to find any of the 156 people who remain unaccounted for after the collapse. At least five people were killed.
While the engineering report from the firm of Morabito Consultants did not warn of imminent danger from the damage — and it is unclear if any of the damage observed was responsible for the collapse — it did note the need for extensive and costly repairs to fix the systemic issues with Champlain Towers South.
The report said the waterproofing under the pool deck had failed and had been improperly laid flat instead of sloped, preventing water from draining off.
“The failed waterproofing is causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas. Failure to replaced the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially,” the report said.
The firm recommended that the damaged slabs be replaced in what would be a major repair.
source at AP wire.
Comment: building collapses like this usually involve such "trauma" as an earthquake, sinkhole formation, landslide, violent attacks, or storm. Hindsight is cheap, but this condominium unit sounds like something that should have been condemned due to concerns of safety. It likely had no compelling reason for preventing demolition such as being a heritage site.
In view of its collapse it was likely unsafe for repairs. The news story suggests shoddy construction forty years ago, and anyone who expects shoddy construction to take care of itself on its own is a fool.
I can only wonder how much shoddy construction exists that puts people at undue risk in the event of earthquakes and hurricanes. Florida is not earthquake country, but it is certainly hurricane country.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.