Miami-area condo collapse: Official said building was in 'good shape' despite warning
At least 11 people were killed and 150 more were unaccounted for 5 days after the condo collapsed Thursday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Just three years before a high-rise condominium collapsed in Florida Thursday, a local building official told board members that the building was in "very good shape" despite warnings from an engineer about structural problems.
Former Surfside building official Rosendo "Ross" Prieto made the comments during a meeting of the Champlain Towers South board on Nov. 15, 2018, according to the minutes of the meeting released after the collapse. But about a month earlier, a report from Morabito Consultants, an engineering firm, pointed out flaws in the building ahead of work that would be needed for the building to meet 40-year recertification in 2021, documents show.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The engineering report found that the pool deck's waterproofing had failed and was not sloped to drain water. That was a concern for the concrete slab under the pool and other parts of the structure. It also pointed to "abundant cracking" in concrete columns and beams.
"Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially," the report states.
However, Prieto said during the meeting that the engineering report showed "the building is in very good shape," the minutes show. And he told the then-town manager in an email the next day that the building was off to a positive start for its recertification as required by local law.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The response was very positive from everyone in the room," Prieto wrote in the email, which local officials provided to reporters. "All the main concerns over their forty-year recertification process were addressed."
However, there was no sign that necessary work on the structure was done, the Associated Press reported.
Prieto, who no longer works for Surfside, told the Miami Herald that he didn't remember seeing the engineering report.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The cause of the 12-story building's collapse remains unknown.
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Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said on Monday that an 11th body had been discovered and that another 150 people were still unaccounted for.
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County officials are now conducting an audit of other recertifications for all local buildings four stories or taller, Cava said.
The audit will focus on any potential "life safety issues" and wll be done within the next 30 days, according to Cava.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"So far, we are confident that things are safe," she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.