Residents of an apartment building in Miami Beach, Florida, were told to leave Thursday after a structural inspection. The building is less than two miles from the site of the deadly Surfside apartment collapse last year.
The Port Royal building received an evacuation order this week as part of its 50-year recertification. City officials said the order came after a report from the building’s structural engineer showed “excessive deflection” of a concrete beam in the garage.
Photos in an inspection report provided to CNN show the Miami Beach building has structural damage and water leaks near electrical connections.
A Miami Beach apartment was ordered to be evacuated after a failed safety inspection. That building, near where another Miami Beach condo collapsed last year, underwent a 50-year inspection for recertification. pic.twitter.com/lCWZdaCkgy
— Scott Walterman (@scottwalterman) October 28, 2022
The inspection report from 10 months ago said structural engineers also found “several problem areas which have been identified as a priority for repair”. On Oct. 27, a second inspection showed a half-inch bend and that the crack that needed to be fixed had “expanded.”
Inspectors say it could take 10 days to repair the building so it can be re-inspected to see if people can return.
“The City of Miami Beach posted a hazardous structure notice yesterday at 6969 Collins Avenue requiring residents to vacate immediately based on a report from the building’s structural engineer,” city spokeswoman Melissa Berthier told sources.
Miami Beach apartment evacuated after structural damage found in garage -> pic.twitter.com/ElbBbh3Kj1
— Cody Weddle (@CodyWeddleWPLG) October 28, 2022
“The Tenant Relocation Ordinance applies to those who rent the building as required by municipal code.”
The order at 6969 Collins Avenue comes more than a year after 98 people died when a large section of the Champlain Towers South building in nearby Surfside collapsed in the middle of the night in June 2021killing many people.
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