Engineers are puzzling over what could have contributed to the shocking and deadly partial collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South residential condominium in Surfside, Fla., about 15 miles north of Miami Beach. Occurring in the early hours of June 24, the failure of the reinforced concrete structure with flat slab floors has caused an as-yet unknown total number of fatalities.
As first responders ramped up work at the site, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed nine deaths on June 27, with an estimated 156 people unaccounted for. She also said there will be a 30-day audit starting immediately of all buildings under county jurisdiction that are 40 years and older, or near the four-decade mark, adding that officials in cities within Miami-Dade would also order inspections of similarly aged buildings they are responsible for.