REMEMBERING SURFSIDE: In 2021, a 12-story condominium building in Surfside, Florida, collapsed, killing 98 people.
COLLAPSE of Champlain Towers South in Surfside ⚠️‼️
•24 June 2021•
🏢So-called "creeping collapse," the gradual propagation of faults could have occurred for a variety of reasons, including design flaws or less robust construction remaining under building codes from four decades ago when the complex was built. But that progression couldn't have happened without a first critical failure.
“It was standing for 40 years and it collapsed relatively suddenly,” said Glenn R. Bell, director of Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures, a program of the Institute for Structural Engineering of the American Society of Civil Engineers. “
But why did it collapse at that time?
The 2018 report by the consultancy, an engineer hired by the homeowners' association to examine the building, where the building's owners were warned, revealed that corrosion of reinforcing steel was a critical problem.
But other structural engineers said some level of corrosion was common in older buildings and a building was unlikely to collapse on its own. ⚠️
One of the primary causes of the building failure was the deteriorated waterproofing, allowing water to infiltrate the structure and accelerate the deterioration.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/
We can help! To ensure aging structures are safe, Florida legislators signed into law Senate Bill 4D on May 26, 2022, which as signed is section 553.899, Florida Statute.
This new law requires multi-story residential buildings and condominiums over three (3) stories tall to receive mandatory structural inspections called Historic Inspections. The law also requires that Structural Integrity Reserve Studies be completed every ten years.
At Smyth Engineering, Ensuring your safety, along with the safety of all families, is our highest priority. We are committed to implementing the necessary measures and protocols to protect everyone's well-being, recognizing the importance of creating a secure environment for all.
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