A city news release stated that a January audit, prompted by the collapse at Champlain Towers South in Surfside, found that Crestview Towers, North Miami Beach’s 156-unit towers, was structurally and electrically unsound. Friday afternoon, law enforcement officers surrounded the area and went door to door in the apartment building. They told residents that they needed to move out of the 49-year-old structure.
Harold Dauphin was returning from picking up his son from camp Friday night when he saw a helicopter buzzing his apartment and an increased police presence. He was unsure if there had been any shootings nearby, but he returned to his apartment to discover that the building was being evacuated.
Dauphin stated that the building was unsafe and urged people to evacuate immediately. His son and he live on the second floor. He stated that he had never heard of the problems the city was referring to in the news release. He grabbed his clothes, work uniform, and some electronic devices and they left.
“It’s sad, but I get it. He said that he understood Surfside’s events.
It is the first building that has been evacuated since South Florida officials and the state began to examine older high-rises following the Surfside collapse in order to make sure structural issues are not ignored.
Authorities in Surfside reported that four additional bodies were discovered in the rubble by the authorities, including the daughter of a Miami firefighter aged 7. This brings the total number of confirmed deaths to 22.
There was also relief. Officials said that closer inspection of the missing persons’ list showed that the number was reduced from 145 to just 126. After duplicate names were removed, some residents who had been reported as missing turned out to be safe.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava of Miami-Dade said, “So this news is very, very positive.” She stated that the numbers could continue to change because detectives are constantly reviewing the list and verifying reports.
Levine Cava stated that rescuers were particularly hard-pressed to find the remains of the girl.
It was really different and more difficult to our first responders. These men and women are suffering an immense human cost every day. I ask you all to keep them in your thoughts, prayers and thoughts,” she stated at a news conference.