(NYP) – A sister building in the same complex as the collapsed Florida condo has new cracks in its garage — but experts said residents are safe, even as a voluntary evacuation is in effect.
Photos taken by a resident of Champlain Towers East show a large chunk of concrete crumbled off a pillar in the garage — damage that the resident told local news outlets wasn’t visible until after Champlain Towers South collapsed Thursday. “I’m afraid that there could be some issue in our building that could result in what we saw in Champlain Towers South,” resident Robert Lisman told Local 10 in an interview.
But structural engineer Allyn Kilsheimer found that damage was of no immediate concern, saying that both sister buildings to the collapsed condo showed “no visible evidence of any major structural concerns,” NBC Miami reported on Monday. Only two people have asked to be relocated from the building, the TV station said.
Rescue and recovery efforts continue at the 12-story South building, where 11 people have been confirmed dead and 150 were still missing as of Monday night. But while emergency crews held out hope of rescuing survivors from air pockets in the tons of rubble and debris,
local officials and high-rise residents have feared a repeat at other buildings in the coastal region. Of particular focus are the East and North towers in the same complex in Surfside. The North and South towers were built in 1981, with the East tower constructed 13 years later, NBC stated. READ MORE
