Seeking Answers: Updates on Surfside Condo Collapse Investigation

TFD – Dive into the ongoing investigation of the Surfside condominium collapse, where federal investigators reveal critical updates and potential causes behind the tragedy.

On Thursday, federal investigators provided updates on their investigation into the cause of the devastating Surfside, Florida condominium collapse in 2021. These findings included important details about the circumstances that may have contributed to the 98 individuals who died beneath a mountain of rubble.

According to a presentation by National Institute of Standards and Technology officials, investigators have narrowed down approximately two dozen potential causes of the building’s collapse from hundreds of potential points of failure.

The probe has revealed that the building’s swimming pool deck – located at ground level above an underground parking garage – collapsed at least four minutes before the rest of the building, confirming earlier witness reports. Potential structural failures in the pool deck or columns supporting the tower are among the top issues now being looked at as teams probe the cause of the disaster, investigators said.

It took about a month for search and recovery crews to find and identify all 98 victims, who ranged in age from 1 to 92 years old. The tragedy affected families all over the world, including in Argentina, Paraguay and Colombia. In some cases, entire families were killed.

The tragedy may have been decades in the making. Investigators have determined Champlain Towers’ integrity had likely been compromised when it was being built in the 1970s, noting that the design and construction of some parts didn’t meet standard building code requirements at the time.

But the search for answers is far from over, as investigators must continue to meticulously examine the evidence and rule out the long list of possible scenarios. They plan to publish a report with their final conclusions early in the next year.

The organization looks at significant building malfunctions and accidents, such as the 911 World Trade Center collapse, but it does not establish criminal responsibility. Alternatively, it may suggest modifying building codes to raise future safety requirements.

CNN has contacted the town officials of Surfside for comment.

The main conclusions from Thursday’s inquiry update are listed below.

Investigators claim that several initial building components weren’t up to code.

When construction of Champlain Towers finished in 1981, parts of its structural design didn’t meet the required building code, particularly in the pool deck and tower columns, investigators said in their presentation.

James Harris, one of the probe’s project supervisors, stated, “We’ve found several places where the construction did not meet the requirements of the drawings, the building code, or common practice.”

The presentation stated that deficiencies were discovered in the concrete alignment, strength of the floor concrete, and locations of the steel reinforcement in the building. A number of the pool deck’s sections have “severe” strength issues, according to officials.

Significant structural repairs were also being performed on the structure in the months before it collapsed. In a letter to homeowners in April 2021, condo association president Jean Wodnicki listed some of the problems and stated that the “concrete deterioration is accelerating.”

According to CNN, the condo association started the process of making the $15 million in repairs, which included an evaluation that identified the building’s “major structural damage,” more than two years prior to the collapse.

The pool deck gives way just before the skyscraper collapses.

According to Emel Ganapati, who is co-leading the investigation’s evidence collection efforts, one resident claimed that just before the mayhem broke out, a family member had woken them up because they were hearing “metallic noises” reverberating throughout the building. A few moments later, the resident saw the pool deck collapse into the underground garage below it.

Investigators found that the slab holding the pool deck disintegrated more than four minutes before the tower fell. They suggested that the slab may have fallen into the garage as a result of a failure in the connection between it and its support columns.

In the presentation, investigators stated that “there were indications of severe distress in the pool deck at least three weeks before the collapse.”

It stated that prior to the occurrence, residents had reported hearing “knocking” and “hammering” sounds, which would have been an indication that the reinforcement in the slab had split. The slab had been drooping, exposed to water, and corroded in certain places, according to the evidence as well.

According to the presentation, the weight load on the slab increased as a result of the landscaping pots adorning the pool deck being heavier with more pavement and filler over time.

At the time of the collapse, it was stated that the cumulative effect of all these flaws produced “critically low margins against failure.”

Despite this, the investigators stated that “we have not yet ruled out a failure initiation in some part of the tower” that may have happened prior to the pool deck collapse, “even though there is strong evidence that the collapse initiated in the pool deck.”

It is also possible for the columns of the tower to fail.

The columns sustaining the tower’s southern side may have broken in a number of ways, the investigators concluded, causing their weight to be shifted elsewhere and ultimately leading to the collapse.

Investigators have found that there were warning indications of impending disaster, including “severe structural movements” in the tower prior to the plummet and roaring and rumbling sounds in one of the upper story hallways before the floor began to buckle and bend.

The initial structure failures that caused the eastern part of the collapse likely happened below the third floor, investigators said, noting that video footage shows the facade of the building moving “uniformly downward” during the fall.

According to the presentation, there were various possible causes of the tower columns’ compromise, such as corrosion, exposure to water, and improper installation.

Several theories are still up for debate.

Even while investigators have concluded that the most likely causes of the collapse are strongly supported by the evidence, they still need to thoroughly rule out dozens of other possibilities through testing and analysis of the available data.

Other theories, albeit less likely, include the foundation’s uneven settlement or its construction on terrain that eventually generated sinkholes or other problems, according to officials.

By fall 2025, the National Institute of Standards and Technology intends to publish an online presentation geared towards the general public and a multi-volume final report summarizing its findings, the organization stated.

According to its website, “Florida alone has millions of high-rise condominium units, many of which are historic buildings close to the ocean.” “A NIST investigation could find possible problems in other nearby and nationwide comparable buildings, even though its primary goal is to determine the cause of the Champlain Towers South collapse.”

The families of the victims, who have seen safety regulations and large court payouts but have been waiting years for clarification on why the tragedy occurred in the first place, may also receive much-needed answers from the findings.