Why Evacuations were Ordered at Unsafe Florida Building

The Story
On Monday, residents in an apartment building in North Miami Beach – not far from the site of a 2021 building collapse – were ordered to evacuate when engineers found the five-story structure is unsafe.

What did the engineers find?
The firm was hired by the owners of Bayview 60 Homes to help bring the building up to regulation for its upcoming 50-year recertification. Instead, structural engineer Bronislaus P. Taurinski alerted the owners and officials that his firm had found excessive “deflection,” or sagging, in concrete slabs on the building’s second and third floors.

Did they provide alternatives for the tenants?
Yes, though on a short term. The city manager’s office confirmed that tenants will be compensated with accommodations for the next three nights at up to $150 per night, and they’ll be refunded their April rent and security deposits by the building’s owners.

Playing politics with safety?
Last month, state legislators failed to reach an agreement on a bill requiring inspections of aging condo buildings and mandating condo boards to conduct studies to determine how much they need to set aside for repairs. In July 2021, the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside, Florida collapsed, killing almost 100 people.