The Miami Building Collapse: What Happened?

On June 24th, a bit after 1 AM in the morning, the Champlain Towers South Condo in Miami, Florida collapsed. Unfortunately, 98 people had died due to this collapse. There was no earthquake or any disaster near the premise of the building, so what caused the building to collapse?

While investigations are still underway, there are multiple theories of what caused the building to collapse. One theory states that rhe first signs of failure before the collapse came from the foundation of the building and the garage of the condominium. The foundation was made of piles, metal rods, which were used to support the stability of the building. The piles were apparentely compromised by water intrusions. There had been warnings about the water intrusions since 2018. Around the same time, there were cracks in the supporting columns and walls of the parking garage. During the collapse, water seemed to be pouring into the garage, apparently due to a collapsed column. During examination of building, there was serious water damage found in the ceiling of the garage.

Another theory states that the pool deck of the building also could have been a problem that could have caused the collapse, as the concrete columns that supported the deck to the building seemed to have failed as well. The pool deck was the first part of the building to completely collapse. Structural engineers believe this was because the columns of the deck were overstressed and did not have enough support.

Investigations to find the main root of what caused the collapse are still happening. More than $20 million has been spent on the investigation, but it is not expected to be complete until 2025. Once the problem is found, engineers can make safer designs for buildings to prevent anything like this ever happening again.

Sources

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