We have no idea — yet — if the “major error” discovered in the construction of the Champlain Towers South condominium contributed to the building’s partial collapse Thursday morning. We do know, however, that an engineer’s 2018 disclosure, this crumpled building and the deaths of its residents must be the catalyst for changes that ensure this never happens again.
In addition to the immediate, on-the-ground investigations, this tragedy also calls for a Miami-Dade grand jury investigation. Grand juries can decide to investigate matters of great public concern, and they routinely issue reports on broad topics. In Miami-Dade, that has included reports on the health of Biscayne Bay, in 2018, and the preparation for Hurricane Irma, in 2017. A Miami-Dade grand jury in 2018 even tackled condo owners’ complaints, issuing a list of recommended legislation. If ever there were an issue of public concern, the collapse of Champlain Towers South qualifies.
“Historically, this is the sort of thing grand jurors look at,” State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, who has been to the scene, told the Miami Herald Editorial Board. She said that she and her team have been discussing the idea, but that they are focused first and most urgently on the continuing rescue efforts. Ultimately, it’s up to the jurors to decide if they will investigate, though we can’t imagine a scenario in the case of Champlain in which they wouldn’t.
Already, condo dwellers throughout Greater Miami, and beyond, are demanding to know if their own buildings are safe.
As reported by the Miami Herald’s Sarah Blaskey and Aaron Leibowitz, an engineer’s report in 2018 highlighted a “major error” dating back to the building’s beginnings where the lack of proper drainage on the pool deck caused “major structural damage.” Surfside officials released the report late Friday night.
It is not yet known if this issue played a role in the building’s collapse. But it represents a turning point where grief over the collapse likely will start to turn into outrage.
Miamians are relatively accustomed to disasters of the natural kind, as every hurricane season reminds us. It’s a risk we accept when we choose to live in Florida.
But the collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside was no Category 5 storm, no calculated risk. The people in that building didn’t know they could die in their beds because their 12-story condo might fall down around them, without warning, in the middle of the night.
A recording of the collapse, caught on another building’s video camera, shows one part of the building crumbling, followed by a second section moments later. The entire, horrifying event is mere seconds long. If the number of missing people is any indication, this could become the worst building collapse in Florida.
The tragedy, which is still unfolding as the death toll rises, has caused ripples of fear in condos dwellers up and down the coast, and inland as well. If a failure like this could happen in a building constructed in 1981, what might happen in older buildings or those with delayed or shoddy maintenance? Champlain Towers South condo was in the process of doing the legally required 40-year structural check-up when it buckled.
Hundreds of thousands of condo residents, perhaps even millions around the country, deserve to know exactly what happened in Surfside. They need to understand what can be done to prevent another collapse, and they need to know that as fast as possible. They need an honest, open — and urgent — investigation of how our condo safeguards went so catastrophically, lethally wrong.
To start, though, we need seamless cooperation with Surfside, Miami-Dade County, the state government and the federal government — regardless of which party holds the top offices. Thursday, County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava signed an emergency order, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who declared a state of emergency in the county, freeing up the flow of federal money and resources that President Biden has indicated would be forthcoming. That’s a baseline of cooperation, and we’re glad to see it.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been on the scene in Surfside, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is getting involved as well. The city of Miami’s building department is requesting citywide inspections of all buildings six stories or taller that are 40 years old or older. Miami Beach has started examining its 40-year building recertification process.
“We’re not waiting for some engineering report to tell us what happened,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told the Editorial Board. He said he’s been receiving calls from residents concerned about the structural integrity of their buildings.
We expect there will be many more such requests for inspections and calls for reexamining the requirements for safety, as there should be. Municipalities must be ready to take swift action to reassure residents or identify problems. That is the bare minimum — and it’s non-negotiable.
In addition to Fernandez Rundle seeking to involve a grand jury in Miami-Dade, the governor can take his own action, creating a panel of engineers and others with building-construction expertise to dig into the causes of the disaster, which could range from coastal subsidence in the ground below to compromised structural support because of water intrusion, to cite two theories being discussed. For any such effort to succeed — and for residents to trust the results — it’s critical that all investigators be unbiased, without financial or political motivation to cover up or excuse any industry, agency or individual. For DeSantis, who has increasingly specialized in divisive politics, appointing such a board might be particularly difficult. It shouldn’t be.
This collapse should propel real and lasting change. Condo owners have already long complained about how hard it is to get information about simple disputes, finances and problems in their own buildings. The investigation into what happened at Champlain Towers South must break that old pattern for good. If that means writing new laws to govern condo safety — or even a special session — lawmakers should not hesitate.
After Hurricane Andrew flattened houses in 1992, Florida rewrote its hurricane construction code. Those changes were costly to homeowners and homebuilders, but no doubt saved many lives. While we don’t know if this condo disaster is the result of construction shortcuts or other building flaws, an independent and unassailable panel is the best way to find out. And if retrofitting old buildings and constructing new ones with added safety features is the way to ensure that nothing like this happens again, that absolutely must be done, no matter the cost — and no matter the politics.
While it is far too early to determine the root cause of the tragedy in Surfside, the safeguards Florida has in place to prevent this kind of disaster clearly weren’t enough. Scores of people are still missing. Searchers are working around the clock, risking their own lives looking for signs of life in the rubble. Lawsuits are already being filed.
There’s a gaping wound in Miami’s psyche now, shaped like the shorn-away side of Champlain Towers South. Before the blame-shifting begins, as it no doubt will, let’s honor the people who lost their lives Thursday with a full, fact-finding investigation and a list of recommendations.
This horror must never be repeated.
