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Off-Topic Building collapsed in Surfside

Tad Footeball said:
It's obviously the current prevailing theory but are sinkholes this close to the ocean that common? I know it certainly seems like they've been less of an issue in general in South Florida than the rest of the state too.
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Naturally occurring are very, very rare in Palm/Broward/Dade.
 
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Being on the beach, that building was built on pilings, or should have been.
I doubt it was a sinkhole.

A structural failure on any floor can cause that building to collapse.
The beams/girders are designed to carry the live and dead loads of that floor, not the weight/impact of a falling floor(s) above it.
Not unlike the Towers on 9/11.

My god, 159 missing, 4 dead.
Tragic.
Prayers to all of the families affected.
 
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There are all kinds of possibilities here, some have already been mentioned.

You can’t also rule out engineering mistakes. A wrong calculation, misplaced support structure, using the wrong kind of concrete, and other engineering miscalculations could be at fault.

Sometimes these engineering mistakes don’t rear their ugly heads until many years later after the stress and strain of the years finally cause the collapse.

Whatever the cause, it’s a horrible tragedy.
 
TheMatador said:
South Florida is just weird. You dig down ten feet and you hit water. Never seen a basement in a South Florida house or building. My father used to be a builder though we left south Florida for Central Florida in early ‘60’s. Remember how even smaller, two story apt houses were built on pilings. Remember watching them going in on my fathers projects on Miami Beach.

Not to mention sinkholes.

I used to know Surfside like the back of my hand. I lived next door in Bay Hatbor Islands. I used to have paper routes in Surfside and Bal Harbor. They’ve always had erosion problems on the beaches. This building is not too far. I wonder if their is some inherent instanility in the ground around the beach.
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It's all about the water table...When I bought my home in Ft Walton Bch in 93....I went ahead and put a Water well in (mainly for sprinkler system)...they only had to go down 15ft before hitting water....some places as you said...alot less...
 
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Hoyacane1620 said:
Looks like a bunch of the guys are heading over with water and supplies. Harley and a few others are posting pics on their social media. This team has been so involved in the community this summer. It's great to see...
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hopefully this generates a similar amount of pub as the "yacht"
 
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Drove by Surfside today.....brutal traffic, not that many cars but streets are closed, police are only allowing residents in, etc. etc. A tad surreal.
 
So basically saltwater, or pool water, or both, relegated the bottom of that building to potato chip.

The powers that be should've taken care of those repairs ASAP as soon as they got that report.

Thoughts And Prayers for everybody involved.
 
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