Rescue workers digging feverishly for a fifth day Monday stressed that they could still find survivors in the rubble of a collapsed Florida condo building, a hope family members clung to even though no one has been pulled out alive since the first day the structure fell.
The death toll rose by four people Sunday, to a total of nine confirmed dead. But more than 150 people are still missing in Surfside, Florida.
‘You Gotta Have Faith’
Andy Alvarez, a deputy incident commander with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday that rescuers have been able to find some voids inside the wreckage, mostly in the basement and parking garage areas.
“We have over 80 rescuers at a time that are breaching the walls that collapsed, in a frantic effort to try to rescue those that are still viable and to get to those voids that we typically know exist in these buildings,” Alvarez said.
“We have been able to tunnel through the building,” Alvarez added, and big cranes have helped rescuers lift “huge pieces of concrete” off the pile. “This is a frantic search to seek that hope, that miracle, to see who we can bring out of this building alive,” Alvarez said.
Crews work in the rubble at the Champlain Towers South Condo, Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. Many people were still unaccounted for after Thursday’s fatal collapse. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
He said rescuers, like the families, are still hoping for good news. “You’ve gotta have hope and you’ve gotta have faith,” he said.
Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai, head of a humanitarian delegation from Israel that includes several search-and-rescue experts, said the professionals have told him of cases where survivors were found after 100 hours or more.
“So don’t lose hope, that’s what I would say,” he said.
Some families had hoped their visit to the site near the 12-story building would allow them to shout messages to loved ones possibly buried deep inside the pile. As they returned to a nearby hotel, several paused to embrace as they got off the bus. Others walked slowly with arms around each other back to the hotel entrance.
“We are just waiting for answers. That’s what we want,” said Dianne Ohayon, whose parents, Myriam and Arnie Notkin, were in the building. “It’s hard to go through these long days and we haven’t gotten any answers yet.”
Recent Warning Signs About the Building
New information released over the weekend shows an engineering consultant found alarming evidence three years ago of major structural damage to the concrete slab below the pool deck. It also included cracking columns, beams, and walls in the parking garage under the 13-story building.
However, the chief building official for the town of Surfside told residents the condominium was “in very good shape,” according to minutes from a November 2018 board meeting obtained by the Miami Herald.
This aerial image shows an oceanfront condo building that partially collapsed three days earlier, resulting in fatalities and many people still unaccounted for, in Surfside, Fla., Sunday, June 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Rescue Crews Holding Out Hope for Survivors
Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah explained that conditions at the site — the building pancaked when it fell — have frustrated crews looking for survivors. Alan Cominsky, chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, said his team is holding out hope of finding someone alive, but must continue to move slowly and methodically.
“The debris field is scattered throughout, and it’s compact, extremely compact,” he said, noting that teams must stabilize and shore up debris as they go.
“We can’t just go in and move things erratically, because that’s going to have the worst outcome possible,” he said.
Earl Tilton, who runs a search-and-rescue consulting firm in North Carolina, said rushing into the rubble without careful planning and execution would injure or kill rescuers and the people they are trying to save.
“Moving the wrong piece of debris at the wrong time could cause it to fall” on workers and crush them, he said.
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But Tilton agreed families were not wrong to continue holding out hope. During past urban rescues, he said, rescuers, have found survivors as long as a week past the initial catastrophe.
President Joe Biden said in a statement he spoke with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about efforts on the ground after Criswell visited the site. Biden said his administration is prepared to provide assistance and support.
“This is an unimaginably difficult time for the families enduring this tragedy,” Biden said. “My heart goes out to every single person suffering during this awful moment.”
Religious Groups Join in Relief Efforts
As CBN News has reported, several Miami-based groups are organizing relief efforts. Religious organizations, like the Shul of Bal Harbour synagogue in Surfside, are asking for donations to help the families of those impacted. As of Monday, 9,874 people had donated more than $1 million towards a $5 million goal.
GoFundMe has a list of several verified fundraisers for the Surfside condo collapse. You can check out the list here.
The Miami Herald has compiled a list of groups, businesses, community organizations, and charities that have stepped up to help. These efforts include asking for volunteers, blood drives, clothing, cash, and other items.
Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami said Catholic Charities and local clergy are joining relief efforts.
Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains listen when people want to talk and pray with them. (Image credit: Billy Graham Rapid Response Team)
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team also has trauma counselors on-site to pray and minister to the victims and first responders.
Josh Holland, assistant director for the team said, “Our crisis-trained chaplains are available to listen, and we want all of those who were impacted—including the first responders who are part of the search-and-rescue efforts—to know that God still loves them and cares about them, even in the midst of such pain and sadness.”
“Pray for the family members of those who lived in the building waiting to hear if their loved ones are safe or not,” Franklin Graham said on Facebook. “The Bible tells us, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’ (Psalm 46:1).”
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