Miami Condo Collapse: Could Pool Deck Work 2020 Cause It?

Comments · 3.3K

• SA

  @SAHamel_ · 5 years ago

  I knew no one there but I can't stop watching, learning and understanding how this collapsed. I feel so sorry for all those people.

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• AD

  @aderilus · 5 years ago

  Whoever complained about tourists staying up so late in Miami has clearly never been to Miami.

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• FI

  @FireCracker3240 · 5 years ago

  I'm not an engineer, but I am an apartment manager. This heartbreaking tragedy has been so relevant and fascinating to me that I've been following it every step of the way. This is by far the best information I've seen. Your skills in breaking this all done using video, photos, witness accounts, reports and blueprints is really very impressive. Thank you for covering this situation so thoroughly.

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• SI

  @simonbone · 5 years ago (edited)

  So basically, like most disasters, it took several factors coming together for this to happen:<br>1) A pool deck that was needlessly attached to the support columns of the building<br>2) A design flaw in the pool deck that allowed water to collect and seep into the structure instead of dissipate<br>3) Inadequate or incomplete work installing the waterproofing on the flawed deck, making it ineffective or worse, allowing water to collect at the edges<br>4) An engineering report that buried the terrifying news in a subparagraph on page 7, perhaps not making it clear to the owners just how bad things were<br>5) Reluctance or inability of the condo owners to take immediate remedial action, due to high cost and complicated decision-making process<br>6) Complacency among residents and staff, becoming used to signs of severe damage and cosmetic patches<br>7) A possibly overstressed and incorrectly installed beam connecting two columns at a critical point that may have ensured a domino effect - that if one column collapsed, it would bring down the other (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbuUZWM6bdA&amp;t=1593">26:33</a>)<br>8) Inadequate structural strength - as with many condos - due to desire to fit more floors into the building under height restrictions, making it more susceptible to &quot;punch-through&quot; collapse<br>9) Inadequate redundancy, with the loss of one pillar enough to cause collapse<br>10) Inadequate pillar strength in section of building that collapsed, possibly due to use of substandard concrete among other factors<br>11) Possible overloading and stressing of pool deck and supporting pillars with things like heavy planters and trees<br>12) Once collapse was inevitable, failure of anyone to sound the alarm or evacuate building in the several minutes in which it would have been possible to do so<br>13) Officials failing to take reports seriously, and lack of enforcement of rules and regulations already in place (thanks, Panpsychism)<br>14) Core samples taken in critical area of pool deck, possibly further weakening structure (thanks, alexwestconsulting)<br>15) Building sinking and water table rising, adding to stress on structure<br>(There are probably more)

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• JO

  @jonathanfalkowsky672 · 5 years ago

  The building was a collapse waiting to happen. &nbsp;I just wish they had gotten everyone evacuated beforehand. &nbsp;RIP to all those who we lost.

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• DW

  @dwainwall198 · 5 years ago

  Jeff, your analysis thus far seems to be accurate, your peeling the onion one layer at a time.Keep up the great work.

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• FI

  @firewalker1372 · 5 years ago

  The fact that people thought tourists could not have been out after 1 am in Miami is a bit hilarious, come on folks.

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• ES

  @EstorilEm · 5 years ago

  This would jive with the lady who reported that “the deck collapsed” before the actual building came down. At the time many people thought that phone call made no sense.

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• AN

  @AngelaJeanOfficial · 5 years ago

  Yes I live five blocks from this building, you don’t even go out until midnight and everybody’s always on the streets. I can confirm that I can see this building from my rooftop.

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• IR

  @irina383 · 5 years ago

  As someone who lived in Miami Beach for 8 years- there’s always tourists out and about. Even at 5 am people walking back to hotels from clubs.

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• DI

  @dinaboop · 5 years ago

  Whoever built that pool should have built the entire building, that pool is SOLID! Not one brick outta place.

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• NA

  @NadinNewHayHay · 5 years ago (edited)

  To Jeff’s point: no one comes to Miami Beach, including South Beach, to go to sleep. &nbsp;In the 10+ years I have visited Miami Beach, I can’t think of one vacation where I didn’t hang in a restaurant, bar, club, or condo party until 3am or 4am. &nbsp;So YES, it’s completely plausible the guy walking a dog was doing it at 1:30am when he heard the 10 year old boy screaming for help in the collapse AS WELL AS the tourists in the opposing hotel pool at the same time. &nbsp;Welcome to MIA. &nbsp;If you haven’t been you should. &nbsp;RIP to all those lost in this tragedy.

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