In a scene replayed across the United States, angry parents and activists streamed into a meeting of the Florida's Lake County school board on Thursday where it considered whether to mandate mask-wearing for students and staff due to COVID.

Some opponents of the mask proposal brandished signs that read “Let Our Children Breathe.” Even with Florida seeing a record number of coronavirus cases, one attendee called the pandemic "overblown." Another was escorted out by deputies after yelling at board members.

The proposal would require staff and students to wear masks for 14 days at schools with COVID positivity rates at or above 5%.

But Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, effectively banned similar mandates in July.

Since DeSantis' order, more than a dozen Florida counties have rebelled and voted to require masks to protect students and teachers as the Delta variant sweeps across the state. This week, the state's Department of Education sanctioned two counties that passed school mask requirements.

The battle between DeSantis and the state's school systems echoes larger fights across the country.

Other Republican-run states such as Arizona and Texas have also banned mask mandates in schools even as COVID cases have soared in their states, as parents and voters are sharply divided over safety measures and personal freedoms.

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The pushback in Florida against the Republican governor initially was led by large urban school districts run by Democrats. But this week saw more conservative counties that backed Republican Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election also defying DeSantis and instituting their own mandates.

Earlier this week, populous Brevard County along Florida’s east coast, which went for Trump over President Joe Biden by more than 16 percentage points in November, narrowly voted to approve a 30-day school mask mandate.

A day later, Hernando County, which supported Trump over Biden by almost 30 points, also passed a mandate, but one that allows parents to opt out.

In Lake County near Orlando, which also strongly backed Trump, a school official said on Thursday that more than 1,000 students of the 36,000 in the district had tested positive for the virus.

The board listened to more than three hours of public comment on the mask proposal then postponed a decision. Some 280 people spoke or sent emails on the issue, and two-thirds of them supported the idea, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Still, proponents of a mask mandate were booed and heckled by the crowd in attendance.

“This topic has completely polarized communities,” said Andrea Messina, president of the Florida School Boards Association.

'ABSOLUTE CRISIS'

While the conflict centers on whether state or local governments are best equipped to make decisions on health and safety, it also has become a political challenge for DeSantis, whose state has once again become a COVID-19 hotbed.

After being widely praised last year when cases declined and the state’s economy seemed revived, DeSantis has faced renewed criticism for his opposition to masks and employer vaccine mandates. Florida on Aug. 26 saw a single-day record number of new cases of the virus – almost 28,000 – since the pandemic began.

A spokesperson for DeSantis, Christina Pushaw, defended the ban on school mandates, saying the governor is "protecting the rights of families and children from all levels of government overreach."

At the Brevard County meeting on Monday, Misty Belford, the chair of the school board who a month earlier had opposed a mask mandate, switched her vote and gave proponents a 3-2 majority.

Belford changed her mind, she told Reuters, after watching the district’s caseload spike, including a 49% increase in student cases from one week to the next. One school was closed for two days after most of its students were quarantined.

“We are at an absolute crisis point," Belford said.

But board member Katye Campbell, who voted against the mandate, said she worries about negative effects on students from requiring masks, such as asthma flare-ups, suicidal ideation and panic attacks.

“There is nothing easy about this decision because our community is so divided,” Campbell said.

Belford said she was relying on a decision from a Florida court last week that declared the DeSantis rule illegal. DeSantis on Thursday appealed the ruling. Earlier this week, the Florida Board of Education said it would penalize two counties that voted for mask mandates without providing a parental opt-out, Alachua and Broward, by withholding funds from the districts for the board members’ salaries.

Leanetta McNealy, chair of the Alachua County school board, said her board voted for the mask mandate last month based on scientific evidence that it would help mitigate the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

“I’d rather have a decrease in my compensation than have a death under my watch,” she said.

In a scene replayed across the United States, angry parents and activists streamed into a meeting of the Florida's Lake County school board on Thursday where it considered whether to mandate mask-wearing for students and staff due to COVID.

In a scene replayed across the United States, angry parents and activists streamed into a meeting of the Florida's Lake County school board on Thursday where it considered whether to mandate mask-wearing for students and staff due to COVID. Some opponents of the mask proposal brandished signs that read “Let Our Children Breathe.” Even with Florida seeing a record number of coronavirus cases, one attendee called the pandemic "overblown." Another was escorted out by deputies after yelling at board members. The proposal would require staff and students to wear masks for 14 days at schools with COVID positivity rates at or above 5%. But Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, effectively banned similar mandates in July. Since DeSantis' order, more than a dozen Florida counties have rebelled and voted to require masks to protect students and teachers as the Delta variant sweeps across the state. This week, the state's Department of Education sanctioned two counties that passed school mask requirements. The battle between DeSantis and the state's school systems echoes larger fights across the country. Other Republican-run states such as Arizona and Texas have also banned mask mandates in schools even as COVID cases have soared in their states, as parents and voters are sharply divided over safety measures and personal freedoms. Also read | Militants may use Afghan chaos to infiltrate US, EU: NATO The pushback in Florida against the Republican governor initially was led by large urban school districts run by Democrats. But this week saw more conservative counties that backed Republican Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election also defying DeSantis and instituting their own mandates. Earlier this week, populous Brevard County along Florida’s east coast, which went for Trump over President Joe Biden by more than 16 percentage points in November, narrowly voted to approve a 30-day school mask mandate. A day later, Hernando County, which supported Trump over Biden by almost 30 points, also passed a mandate, but one that allows parents to opt out. In Lake County near Orlando, which also strongly backed Trump, a school official said on Thursday that more than 1,000 students of the 36,000 in the district had tested positive for the virus. The board listened to more than three hours of public comment on the mask proposal then postponed a decision. Some 280 people spoke or sent emails on the issue, and two-thirds of them supported the idea, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Still, proponents of a mask mandate were booed and heckled by the crowd in attendance. “This topic has completely polarized communities,” said Andrea Messina, president of the Florida School Boards Association. 'ABSOLUTE CRISIS' While the conflict centers on whether state or local governments are best equipped to make decisions on health and safety, it also has become a political challenge for DeSantis, whose state has once again become a COVID-19 hotbed. After being widely praised last year when cases declined and the state’s economy seemed revived, DeSantis has faced renewed criticism for his opposition to masks and employer vaccine mandates. Florida on Aug. 26 saw a single-day record number of new cases of the virus – almost 28,000 – since the pandemic began. A spokesperson for DeSantis, Christina Pushaw, defended the ban on school mandates, saying the governor is "protecting the rights of families and children from all levels of government overreach." At the Brevard County meeting on Monday, Misty Belford, the chair of the school board who a month earlier had opposed a mask mandate, switched her vote and gave proponents a 3-2 majority. Belford changed her mind, she told Reuters, after watching the district’s caseload spike, including a 49% increase in student cases from one week to the next. One school was closed for two days after most of its students were quarantined. “We are at an absolute crisis point," Belford said. But board member Katye Campbell, who voted against the mandate, said she worries about negative effects on students from requiring masks, such as asthma flare-ups, suicidal ideation and panic attacks. “There is nothing easy about this decision because our community is so divided,” Campbell said. Belford said she was relying on a decision from a Florida court last week that declared the DeSantis rule illegal. DeSantis on Thursday appealed the ruling. Earlier this week, the Florida Board of Education said it would penalize two counties that voted for mask mandates without providing a parental opt-out, Alachua and Broward, by withholding funds from the districts for the board members’ salaries. Leanetta McNealy, chair of the Alachua County school board, said her board voted for the mask mandate last month based on scientific evidence that it would help mitigate the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. “I’d rather have a decrease in my compensation than have a death under my watch,” she said.

More Florida school districts revolt against governor's mask ban as cases surge

The mayor of Orlando city in Florida has asked the residents to cut back their water consumption so that liquid oxygen, which is used to treat the water supplies, can be diverted to hospitals for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. 

“Nationally, the demand for liquid oxygen is extremely high as the priority for its use is to save lives,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a&nbsp;Facebook post on Friday.

The Orlando Utility Commission treats the city’s water with liquid oxygen. With Florida reporting a surge in coronavirus cases, largely due to the outbreak of the Delta variant, the officials from the municipal commission have been urging residents to stop excessive use of water and be prepared to do so for several weeks. 

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According to&nbsp;the Florida&nbsp;health department, the state has reported 150,118 fresh Covid cases in the past week. According to reports from the local media, deaths in Orlando area have overwhelmed crematoriums, which are out of rooms to store bodies.

“It’s critical that we continue to work together and each one of us do our part, as we have done throughout this pandemic, to mitigate the impacts the virus continues to have on our community,” Mayor Dyer had said during a news conference. 

“While this is another new challenge, I know that as a community, working together, we can overcome it with the help of our residents and businesses,” he added.

The municipal commission has been using liquid oxygen to remove the slight discolouration and rotten-egg smell that is found naturally in Florida’s water supply.

The mayor of Orlando city in Florida has asked the residents to cut back their water consumption so that liquid oxygen, which is used to treat the water supplies, can be diverted to hospitals for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The mayor of Orlando city in Florida has asked the residents to cut back their water consumption so that liquid oxygen, which is used to treat the water supplies, can be diverted to hospitals for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. “Nationally, the demand for liquid oxygen is extremely high as the priority for its use is to save lives,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a Facebook post on Friday. The Orlando Utility Commission treats the city’s water with liquid oxygen. With Florida reporting a surge in coronavirus cases, largely due to the outbreak of the Delta variant, the officials from the municipal commission have been urging residents to stop excessive use of water and be prepared to do so for several weeks. Also read | US President announces picks for ambassador to China, Japan positions According to the Florida health department, the state has reported 150,118 fresh Covid cases in the past week. According to reports from the local media, deaths in Orlando area have overwhelmed crematoriums, which are out of rooms to store bodies. “It’s critical that we continue to work together and each one of us do our part, as we have done throughout this pandemic, to mitigate the impacts the virus continues to have on our community,” Mayor Dyer had said during a news conference. “While this is another new challenge, I know that as a community, working together, we can overcome it with the help of our residents and businesses,” he added. The municipal commission has been using liquid oxygen to remove the slight discolouration and rotten-egg smell that is found naturally in Florida’s water supply.

Orlando mayor asks residents to limit water use amid Delta fuelled COVID surge

The remnants of Storm&nbsp;Fred&nbsp;were moving across the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday&nbsp;and were expected to strengthen into a tropical storm overnight, potentially dropping several inches of rain on the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama early next week.

The storm was about 510 miles&nbsp;south-southeast of Mobile, Alabama on Saturday and moving west-northwest at 35 miles&nbsp;per hour, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

It was expected to turn northwest overnight and had a 90 per cent chance of re-strengthening into a tropical storm within the next 48 hours, the NHC said in a Saturday evening advisory.

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"Fred&nbsp;is forecast to regenerate as a tropical cyclone over the Gulf of Mexico tonight or on Sunday, and bring a risk of tropical storm conditions to portions of the northern Gulf coast, especially from coastal Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle beginning on Monday," the forecaster said in a statement.

The storm was expected to drop 3 to 7 inches&nbsp;of rain with maximum isolated totals of 10 inches on the Florida Big Bend and Panhandle by Tuesday.

Fred&nbsp;pummeled the Dominican Republic and grazed the north coast of Cuba on Thursday before moving over the Gulf, leaving thousands in the Dominican Republic without power or running water.

The remnants of Storm Fred were moving across the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday and were expected to strengthen into a tropical storm overnight, potentially dropping several inches of rain on the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama early next week.

The remnants of Storm Fred were moving across the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday and were expected to strengthen into a tropical storm overnight, potentially dropping several inches of rain on the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama early next week. The storm was about 510 miles south-southeast of Mobile, Alabama on Saturday and moving west-northwest at 35 miles per hour, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. It was expected to turn northwest overnight and had a 90 per cent chance of re-strengthening into a tropical storm within the next 48 hours, the NHC said in a Saturday evening advisory. Also read | As Kabul descended in chaos, India was ready for UNSC meet on Afghanistan on Sunday "Fred is forecast to regenerate as a tropical cyclone over the Gulf of Mexico tonight or on Sunday, and bring a risk of tropical storm conditions to portions of the northern Gulf coast, especially from coastal Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle beginning on Monday," the forecaster said in a statement. The storm was expected to drop 3 to 7 inches of rain with maximum isolated totals of 10 inches on the Florida Big Bend and Panhandle by Tuesday. Fred pummeled the Dominican Republic and grazed the north coast of Cuba on Thursday before moving over the Gulf, leaving thousands in the Dominican Republic without power or running water.

Storm Fred expected to strengthen as it aims for Florida Panhandle

United States averaging 10,0000 new Coronavirus cases each day. In Florida, Delta variant drives a surge of COVID-19 cases. Watch this report to know more.

COVID-19 Update: US averaging 10,0000 new Coronavirus cases each day

Florida's health care system is crippling. COVID cases in Florida have surged in the past 6 months. Florida has the worst inoculation rate in the US.

Health care system cripples in Florida as COVID cases surge

Greater numbers of American children are being swept up in a wave of coronavirus infections driven by the Delta variant, causing renewed anxiety for parents and a bitter political fight as schools prepare to reopen within weeks.&nbsp;

Much of the surge is concentrated in the southeastern state of&nbsp;Florida, where some school districts are defying an order by the Republican governor forbidding mask mandates, in the latest political twist in the health crisis.

"Parents are put into an impossible situation of having to choose between the health and life of their child and returning (to) school," said a lawsuit against the governor's order filed by parents of children with disabilities on Friday.

The majority of children who catch the coronavirus will have a mild or asymptomatic disease, and until recently they had not been a major focal point of the pandemic.

That's now changing with Delta, a variant that is as contagious as chickenpox and largely drove 72,000 pediatric cases in the week leading up to July 29, according to a new study by the American Academy of Pediatrics,&nbsp;a&nbsp;figure five times higher than in late June.

Nearly 20,000 of those cases were in&nbsp;Florida, according to state data.

The Sunshine State is also experiencing the highest number of hospitalisations for minors in the country, currently 143, which is ahead of Texas.

"We definitely have seen an increase in cases here, in our emergency department and also within the rest of the hospital, in the last two or three weeks," Dr. Marcos Mestre, medical director of Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami, told AFP.

Most contagious, likely more severe

Only around one percent of children diagnosed with Covid-19 will be hospitalised, said Mestre, but complications are more likely for those with diabetes or who are overweight.

While studies have confirmed Delta is the most transmissible strain to date, there is uncertainty about whether it causes more severe disease.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky said this week that while preliminary studies indicate it may be more serious in adults as well as children, further confirmatory research is needed.

What's so far clear is that northeastern parts of the United States that have driven down community transmission through high levels of adult vaccination are also seeing the lowest rates of pediatric infection. Children are least safe in areas of low adult vaccination.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-search-of-covid-19-origin-us-intel-agencies-scour-massive-genetic-data-from-wuhan-lab-403569\">Also read |&nbsp;In search of COVID-19 origin, US intel agencies scour massive genetic data from Wuhan lab</a>

With new cases surging to levels seen last summer, the CDC now recommends students, staff and all employees remain masked regardless of vaccination status to stem the spread of the airborne virus.

But&nbsp;Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis -- who previously signed legislation banning businesses from using vaccine passports -- is now threatening to cut funding for schools that follow scientific guidance and reimpose mask mandates.

&nbsp;Vaccines the way out

Several school districts have announced plans to defy the governor anyway, including Broward County, the second-largest in the state.

The political fight has made its way to the White House, with President Joe Biden this week telling recalcitrant state leaders, "If you're not going to help, get out of the way."

"If you're coming after the rights of parents in&nbsp;Florida, I'm standing in your way," clapped back DeSantis.

Dr. Mobeen Rathore, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist who practices in Jacksonville and backs mask use at school, said it was wrong to downplay the risks to children.

Children "do get sick, they do get hospitalised, they do get into intensive care units and they do die of Covid," he told AFP.

Like adults, children will have to be vaccinated in the long run, he added.

The United States made vaccines available to over-12s in May, but the shots are still being tested for younger children and aren't likely to be authorised until at least the end of the year.

At a vaccination event held at the FTX Arena, home of the Miami Heat,&nbsp;33-year-old Sara Medina told AFP the last year of online schooling had been "a little crazy," and she was glad the shot paved the way for her 12-year-old son Jayden to get back to the classroom.

Pediatricians strongly advocate for a safe return to in-person learning because of the social, mental health and educational benefits.&nbsp;

"Last year we had to stay home all the time, it was kind of getting boring at home," said Jayden.

"It's important to have (the mask) just in case, for all of us to be safe," he added.

Greater numbers of American children are being swept up in a wave of coronavirus infections driven by the Delta variant, causing renewed anxiety for parents and a bitter political fight as schools prepare to reopen within weeks.

Greater numbers of American children are being swept up in a wave of coronavirus infections driven by the Delta variant, causing renewed anxiety for parents and a bitter political fight as schools prepare to reopen within weeks. Much of the surge is concentrated in the southeastern state of Florida, where some school districts are defying an order by the Republican governor forbidding mask mandates, in the latest political twist in the health crisis. "Parents are put into an impossible situation of having to choose between the health and life of their child and returning (to) school," said a lawsuit against the governor's order filed by parents of children with disabilities on Friday. The majority of children who catch the coronavirus will have a mild or asymptomatic disease, and until recently they had not been a major focal point of the pandemic. That's now changing with Delta, a variant that is as contagious as chickenpox and largely drove 72,000 pediatric cases in the week leading up to July 29, according to a new study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, a figure five times higher than in late June. Nearly 20,000 of those cases were in Florida, according to state data. The Sunshine State is also experiencing the highest number of hospitalisations for minors in the country, currently 143, which is ahead of Texas. "We definitely have seen an increase in cases here, in our emergency department and also within the rest of the hospital, in the last two or three weeks," Dr. Marcos Mestre, medical director of Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami, told AFP. Most contagious, likely more severe Only around one percent of children diagnosed with Covid-19 will be hospitalised, said Mestre, but complications are more likely for those with diabetes or who are overweight. While studies have confirmed Delta is the most transmissible strain to date, there is uncertainty about whether it causes more severe disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky said this week that while preliminary studies indicate it may be more serious in adults as well as children, further confirmatory research is needed. What's so far clear is that northeastern parts of the United States that have driven down community transmission through high levels of adult vaccination are also seeing the lowest rates of pediatric infection. Children are least safe in areas of low adult vaccination. Also read | In search of COVID-19 origin, US intel agencies scour massive genetic data from Wuhan lab With new cases surging to levels seen last summer, the CDC now recommends students, staff and all employees remain masked regardless of vaccination status to stem the spread of the airborne virus. But Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis -- who previously signed legislation banning businesses from using vaccine passports -- is now threatening to cut funding for schools that follow scientific guidance and reimpose mask mandates. Vaccines the way out Several school districts have announced plans to defy the governor anyway, including Broward County, the second-largest in the state. The political fight has made its way to the White House, with President Joe Biden this week telling recalcitrant state leaders, "If you're not going to help, get out of the way." "If you're coming after the rights of parents in Florida, I'm standing in your way," clapped back DeSantis. Dr. Mobeen Rathore, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist who practices in Jacksonville and backs mask use at school, said it was wrong to downplay the risks to children. Children "do get sick, they do get hospitalised, they do get into intensive care units and they do die of Covid," he told AFP. Like adults, children will have to be vaccinated in the long run, he added. The United States made vaccines available to over-12s in May, but the shots are still being tested for younger children and aren't likely to be authorised until at least the end of the year. At a vaccination event held at the FTX Arena, home of the Miami Heat, 33-year-old Sara Medina told AFP the last year of online schooling had been "a little crazy," and she was glad the shot paved the way for her 12-year-old son Jayden to get back to the classroom. Pediatricians strongly advocate for a safe return to in-person learning because of the social, mental health and educational benefits. "Last year we had to stay home all the time, it was kind of getting boring at home," said Jayden. "It's important to have (the mask) just in case, for all of us to be safe," he added.

Delta variant fuels concerns for children's health in Florida

As per the federal health data, Florida has reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19, making it the state's highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic.

The state has now become the new national epicentre for the virus as it accounts for around a fifth of all new cases in the US.

The state reported 409 deaths this week, bringing the total to more than 39,000 since its first in March 2020.&nbsp;

The state's peak happened in mid-August 2020, when 1,266 people died over seven days.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has blamed the surge on a seasonal increase more Floridians are indoors because of the hot weather with air conditioning circulating the virus.

About 60 per cent of Floridians 12 and older are vaccinated, ranking it about midway among the states.

As per the Florida Hospital Association, the statewide COVID-19 hospitalisations are nearing last year's peak.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/delta-covid-19-variant-can-be-passed-on-even-by-those-vaccinated-us-top-health-body-402016">Also read |&nbsp;Delta COVID-19 variant can be passed on even by those vaccinated: US top health body</a>

Also, one of the state's largest health care systems, AdventHealth's Central Florida Division, this week advised that it would no longer be conducting nonemergency surgeries to free up resources for COVID-19 patients.

Meanwhile, the US Centers for Sickness Control and Prevention (CDC) warned in an internal paper that the Delta COVID-19 variant can be passed on even by vaccinated people and may cause more serious disease than previous coronavirus strains.

The variant requires a different way to educate the public about the hazard, according to the document "Improving communications around vaccination breakthroughs and vaccine effectiveness."&nbsp;

The document, titled 'Improving communications around vaccine breakthrough and vaccine effectiveness,' stated that the Delta variant necessitated a new approach to help the public understand the threat, including making it clear that unvaccinated people were more than 10 times more likely to become seriously ill or die than those who were vaccinated.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

As per the federal health data, Florida has reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19, making it the state's highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic. The state has now become the new national epicentre for the virus as it accounts for around a fifth of all new cases in the US.

As per the federal health data, Florida has reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19, making it the state's highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic. The state has now become the new national epicentre for the virus as it accounts for around a fifth of all new cases in the US. The state reported 409 deaths this week, bringing the total to more than 39,000 since its first in March 2020. The state's peak happened in mid-August 2020, when 1,266 people died over seven days. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has blamed the surge on a seasonal increase more Floridians are indoors because of the hot weather with air conditioning circulating the virus. About 60 per cent of Floridians 12 and older are vaccinated, ranking it about midway among the states. As per the Florida Hospital Association, the statewide COVID-19 hospitalisations are nearing last year's peak. Also read | Delta COVID-19 variant can be passed on even by those vaccinated: US top health body Also, one of the state's largest health care systems, AdventHealth's Central Florida Division, this week advised that it would no longer be conducting nonemergency surgeries to free up resources for COVID-19 patients. Meanwhile, the US Centers for Sickness Control and Prevention (CDC) warned in an internal paper that the Delta COVID-19 variant can be passed on even by vaccinated people and may cause more serious disease than previous coronavirus strains. The variant requires a different way to educate the public about the hazard, according to the document "Improving communications around vaccination breakthroughs and vaccine effectiveness." The document, titled 'Improving communications around vaccine breakthrough and vaccine effectiveness,' stated that the Delta variant necessitated a new approach to help the public understand the threat, including making it clear that unvaccinated people were more than 10 times more likely to become seriously ill or die than those who were vaccinated.

Florida breaks record with more than 21,000 new COVID-19 cases

A Florida man was sentenced to eight months in prison for his role in the Capitol riots. This is the first sentencing of someone convicted for a felony over the attack.

US Capitol Riots: Man from Florida sentenced to 8 months in prison in first felony sentence

Police in Miami, Florida said that a man stole candles from a store in the mall and sprayed bear repellent on dozens of shoppers while making escape.

The incident took place in Doral suburb west of Miami. The theft took place in Bath and Body Works store. The suspect who has not yet been identified, entered the store, filled his bag with candles and started spraying shoppers with bear spray.

Bear spray is used to repel aggressive bears who may attack humans in the wild. It is a strong irritant and harmful to humans. It affects a person's eyes and respiratory system.

About 35 people were affected. Some of them, including the store manager, were taken to hospital.

Doral Police spokesperson was quoted by Associated Press as saying that the incident was "only in Miami" sort of development.

After the spraying incident, part of the mall was evacuated. The man believed responsible got away in a cab.

Police in Miami, Florida said that a man stole candles from a store in the mall and sprayed bear repellent on dozens of shoppers while making escape. The incident took place in Doral suburb west of Miami.

Police in Miami, Florida said that a man stole candles from a store in the mall and sprayed bear repellent on dozens of shoppers while making escape. The incident took place in Doral suburb west of Miami. The theft took place in Bath and Body Works store. The suspect who has not yet been identified, entered the store, filled his bag with candles and started spraying shoppers with bear spray. Bear spray is used to repel aggressive bears who may attack humans in the wild. It is a strong irritant and harmful to humans. It affects a person's eyes and respiratory system. About 35 people were affected. Some of them, including the store manager, were taken to hospital. Doral Police spokesperson was quoted by Associated Press as saying that the incident was "only in Miami" sort of development. After the spraying incident, part of the mall was evacuated. The man believed responsible got away in a cab.

Candle thief sprays bear repellent on dozens of shoppers in US mall

The recovery efforts at the South Florida condo building that collapsed last month might be coming to an end soon.

Miami-Dade police identified six more victims of the Surfside condo collapse Thursday, meaning that 92 of the 97 confirmed dead have been identified as the recovery enters a final stretch.

County officials have been able to account for at least 240 people connected to the building, with just a few people still classified as missing, or "potentially unaccounted for." 
 
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A county statement late Thursday said the task of identifying victims had become increasingly difficult, relying heavily on the medical examiner's office and expert technical and scientific work.

It added more than 26 million pounds (11.8 million kilograms) of debris and concrete have been removed as recovery work continues to progress.

A cause has not yet been pinpointed for the collapse, although there were several previous warnings of major structural damage at the 40-year-old building. 
 
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A judge approved the sale of the oceanfront property on Wednesday, with proceeds intended to benefit victims of the deadly disaster.

At a hearing, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman ordered that the process begin to sell the site of Champlain Towers South, which could fetch US$100 million to US$110 million, according to court records.

The judge also approved returning US$2.4 million in deposits that some Champlain condo owners had already made toward an assessment to pay for US$15 million in planned major repairs.

The Surfside collapse has raised alarm and focused scrutiny on other older apartment buildings, including two high-rises in Miami-Dade County that have been evacuated over structural concerns.

On Thursday, a three-story apartment building in northwestern Miami-Dade was evacuated following a partial roof collapse, officials said.

No injuries were immediately reported. Miami-Dade firefighters responded and were checking the roof and clearing the building.

Helicopter footage from WSVN showed that a long section of roof overhang had fallen off one side of the complex to the ground below. The roof didn't appear to have collapsed into any units.

Fire rescue spokesperson Erika Benitez confirmed that the damage was limited to the building's exterior.

The recovery efforts at the South Florida condo building that collapsed last month might be coming to an end soon. Miami-Dade police identified six more victims of the Surfside condo collapse Thursday, meaning that 92 of the 97 confirmed dead have been identified as the recovery enters a final stretch.

The recovery efforts at the South Florida condo building that collapsed last month might be coming to an end soon. Miami-Dade police identified six more victims of the Surfside condo collapse Thursday, meaning that 92 of the 97 confirmed dead have been identified as the recovery enters a final stretch. County officials have been able to account for at least 240 people connected to the building, with just a few people still classified as missing, or "potentially unaccounted for." Also read | Florida building collapse finds its first survivor, a cat A county statement late Thursday said the task of identifying victims had become increasingly difficult, relying heavily on the medical examiner's office and expert technical and scientific work. It added more than 26 million pounds (11.8 million kilograms) of debris and concrete have been removed as recovery work continues to progress. A cause has not yet been pinpointed for the collapse, although there were several previous warnings of major structural damage at the 40-year-old building. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm A judge approved the sale of the oceanfront property on Wednesday, with proceeds intended to benefit victims of the deadly disaster. At a hearing, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman ordered that the process begin to sell the site of Champlain Towers South, which could fetch US$100 million to US$110 million, according to court records. The judge also approved returning US$2.4 million in deposits that some Champlain condo owners had already made toward an assessment to pay for US$15 million in planned major repairs. The Surfside collapse has raised alarm and focused scrutiny on other older apartment buildings, including two high-rises in Miami-Dade County that have been evacuated over structural concerns. On Thursday, a three-story apartment building in northwestern Miami-Dade was evacuated following a partial roof collapse, officials said. No injuries were immediately reported. Miami-Dade firefighters responded and were checking the roof and clearing the building. Helicopter footage from WSVN showed that a long section of roof overhang had fallen off one side of the complex to the ground below. The roof didn't appear to have collapsed into any units. Fire rescue spokesperson Erika Benitez confirmed that the damage was limited to the building's exterior.

Recovery effort at Florida condo collapse could end soon, death toll at 97

Almost a month after the collapse of a building in Florida, the death toll is still increasing as the search and rescue teams are searching for victims.

The death toll has now increased to 94, after nearly three weeks of the disaster. However, the search and rescue operation is seemingly becoming more difficult now.

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"There may be people who are deceased who remain on the unaccounted list until a positive ID has been made," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. "However, the process of making identifications has become more difficult as time goes on, and the recovery at this point is yielding human remains."

She has urged people to keep patience and has also expressed condolences and sympathies for the family members of the missing people. "The process is very methodical and careful, and it does take time," she said.

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Some scientists have also offered their services to match the DNA from recovered human remains to those of the family members of the missing victims. "It's obvious that this has become much more than a collapsed building site. It is a holy site," Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said.

Meanwhile, authorities are now investigating several other buildings in the area for any possible structural damage. An investigation has also been launched to find out the reason behind this deadly building collapse.

Almost a month after the collapse of a building in Florida, the death toll is still increasing as the search and rescue teams are searching for victims. The death toll has now increased to 94, after nearly three weeks of the disaster.

Almost a month after the collapse of a building in Florida, the death toll is still increasing as the search and rescue teams are searching for victims. The death toll has now increased to 94, after nearly three weeks of the disaster. However, the search and rescue operation is seemingly becoming more difficult now. Also read | Florida building collapse finds its first survivor, a cat "There may be people who are deceased who remain on the unaccounted list until a positive ID has been made," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. "However, the process of making identifications has become more difficult as time goes on, and the recovery at this point is yielding human remains." She has urged people to keep patience and has also expressed condolences and sympathies for the family members of the missing people. "The process is very methodical and careful, and it does take time," she said. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm Some scientists have also offered their services to match the DNA from recovered human remains to those of the family members of the missing victims. "It's obvious that this has become much more than a collapsed building site. It is a holy site," Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said. Meanwhile, authorities are now investigating several other buildings in the area for any possible structural damage. An investigation has also been launched to find out the reason behind this deadly building collapse.

'Methodical and careful': Death toll of Florida building collapse reaches 94

As grim news unfolds in Florida following the Surfside building collapse, one small ray of heartwarming news has come forth.

As a "small piece of good news," the Mayor of Miami-Dade County Daniella Levine Cava reported that a cat owned by one of the residents has been found and returned to its family.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/florida-condo-collapse-israelis-fight-despair-while-aiding-survivors-395978/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The entire family is so happy to have been able to see Binx again, as the mayor put it, "thank you from the bottom of our hearts.".

The&nbsp;short-haired black cat&nbsp;named Binx made it out of the collapse and was found by rescue teams&nbsp;wandering nearby.

Binx belonged to&nbsp;a family living on the tower's ninth floor.&nbsp;

As more bodies were recovered and workers had lowered the pile of rubble to ground level, the confirmed death toll in the collapse of the Miami condominium tower climbed to 86.

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The number is staggering and heartbreaking and affects us all on an extremely deep level, said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

The site where 62 bodies have been recovered has been dubbed the largest non-hurricane emergency response effort in Florida's history, says Levine Cava.&nbsp;

There are still 43 people listed as missing.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/rest-of-collapsed-florida-apartment-demolished-ahead-of-storm-search-and-rescue-to-resume-395845">Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue to resume</a>

Having clung to hope for two weeks, the authorities on Wednesday ended the rescue operation on June 24 in order to focus on searching for remains.

(With inputs from agencies)

As grim news unfolds in Florida following the Surfside building collapse, one small ray of heartwarming news has come forth. As a "small piece of good news," the Mayor of Miami-Dade County Daniella Levine Cava reported that a cat owned by one of the residents has been found and returned to its family.

As grim news unfolds in Florida following the Surfside building collapse, one small ray of heartwarming news has come forth. As a "small piece of good news," the Mayor of Miami-Dade County Daniella Levine Cava reported that a cat owned by one of the residents has been found and returned to its family. The entire family is so happy to have been able to see Binx again, as the mayor put it, "thank you from the bottom of our hearts.". The short-haired black cat named Binx made it out of the collapse and was found by rescue teams wandering nearby. Binx belonged to a family living on the tower's ninth floor. As more bodies were recovered and workers had lowered the pile of rubble to ground level, the confirmed death toll in the collapse of the Miami condominium tower climbed to 86. Also read | Florida building collapse: Bodies of Paraguayan first lady’s kin found in the rubble The number is staggering and heartbreaking and affects us all on an extremely deep level, said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. The site where 62 bodies have been recovered has been dubbed the largest non-hurricane emergency response effort in Florida's history, says Levine Cava. There are still 43 people listed as missing. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue to resume Having clung to hope for two weeks, the authorities on Wednesday ended the rescue operation on June 24 in order to focus on searching for remains. (With inputs from agencies)

Florida building collapse finds its first survivor, a cat

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;has reached 86, authorities said Saturday, after workers sifting through the debris pile recovered seven more bodies.

"It is a staggering and heartbreaking number that affects all of us very, very deeply," said Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/florida-building-collapse-bodies-of-paraguayan-first-ladys-kin-found-in-the-rubble-396936">Florida building collapse: Bodies of Paraguayan first lady’s kin found in the rubble</a>

She told reporters that 62 of the corpses so far recovered have been identified as part of what Levine Cava called "the largest ever non-hurricane emergency response effort in&nbsp;Florida's history."&nbsp;

A total of 43 people remain listed as missing.&nbsp;

After clinging to hope for two weeks after the June 24 collapse, the authorities on Wednesday finally ended the rescue part of their work to focus on the search for remains.

Teams working around the clock did announce one tiny miracle: they found a cat wandering nearby that had belonged to a family living on the tower's ninth floor.&nbsp;

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The short-haired black cat, named Binx, was turned over to relatives of the family.

The 12-story Champlain Towers South partially collapsed without warning in the early hours of June 24.

Investigators are continuing to study possible reasons for the disaster, but an earlier engineering report had flagged significant structural problems.

With a still-standing portion of the building posing danger to search teams, the authorities on Sunday brought it down in a controlled implosion.

Since then, bodies have been recovered at a faster pace.

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"We're definitely at ground level and a few feet below, so we're continuing our efforts," said Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky. &nbsp;

He said there was no definite timeline for completing the job, but "we're definitely making progress."

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida has reached 86, authorities said Saturday, after workers sifting through the debris pile recovered seven more bodies.

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida has reached 86, authorities said Saturday, after workers sifting through the debris pile recovered seven more bodies. "It is a staggering and heartbreaking number that affects all of us very, very deeply," said Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County. Also read | Florida building collapse: Bodies of Paraguayan first lady’s kin found in the rubble She told reporters that 62 of the corpses so far recovered have been identified as part of what Levine Cava called "the largest ever non-hurricane emergency response effort in Florida's history." A total of 43 people remain listed as missing. After clinging to hope for two weeks after the June 24 collapse, the authorities on Wednesday finally ended the rescue part of their work to focus on the search for remains. Teams working around the clock did announce one tiny miracle: they found a cat wandering nearby that had belonged to a family living on the tower's ninth floor. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue to resume The short-haired black cat, named Binx, was turned over to relatives of the family. The 12-story Champlain Towers South partially collapsed without warning in the early hours of June 24. Investigators are continuing to study possible reasons for the disaster, but an earlier engineering report had flagged significant structural problems. With a still-standing portion of the building posing danger to search teams, the authorities on Sunday brought it down in a controlled implosion. Since then, bodies have been recovered at a faster pace. "We're definitely at ground level and a few feet below, so we're continuing our efforts," said Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky. He said there was no definite timeline for completing the job, but "we're definitely making progress."

Florida condo tower death toll now at 86

The body of the Paraguayan president's sister-in-law and two of her family members were retrieved from the ruins of the Florida condo that fell.

According to the Paraguayan television channel Telefuturo, the bodies of Sophia López Moreira, her husband Luis Pettengill, and their youngest son have been located, but two more children are still missing.

Sophia López Moreira is the sister of Silvana López Moreira, the first lady of the Republic of Paraguay.

“I am very sorry to have to give this type of information,” National Chancellor Euclides Acevedo said, according to a rough translation. 
 
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The information came from the Paraguayan consulate and those close to the family, the report stated.

The wreckage of the Champlain Tower South in Surfside, a 12-story structure that partially fell on June 24, is still being cleaned up.

On Thursday evening, the official death toll had risen to 64, with 76 people still missing.

(With inputs from agencies)

The body of the Paraguayan president's sister-in-law and two of her family members were retrieved from the ruins of the Florida condo that fell. According to the Paraguayan television channel Telefuturo, the bodies of Sophia López Moreira, her husband Luis Pettengill, and their youngest son have been located, but two more children are still missing.

The body of the Paraguayan president's sister-in-law and two of her family members were retrieved from the ruins of the Florida condo that fell. According to the Paraguayan television channel Telefuturo, the bodies of Sophia López Moreira, her husband Luis Pettengill, and their youngest son have been located, but two more children are still missing. Sophia López Moreira is the sister of Silvana López Moreira, the first lady of the Republic of Paraguay. “I am very sorry to have to give this type of information,” National Chancellor Euclides Acevedo said, according to a rough translation. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue to resume The information came from the Paraguayan consulate and those close to the family, the report stated. The wreckage of the Champlain Tower South in Surfside, a 12-story structure that partially fell on June 24, is still being cleaned up. On Thursday evening, the official death toll had risen to 64, with 76 people still missing. (With inputs from agencies)

Florida building collapse: Bodies of Paraguayan first lady’s kin found in the rubble

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida outside Miami has risen to 46 after 10 more bodies were extracted from the rubble, as the number of people still unaccounted for dropped to 94, officials said Wednesday.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said emergency personnel had been able to reach new areas in the pile of debris as a result of the demolition of Champlain Towers South in a controlled explosion over the weekend.

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She told reporters that those efforts had brought "the total confirmed deaths to 46. Thirty-two of these victims have been identified and next of kin notifications have been made."

"At this time, 200 people are now accounted for and 94 people are still unaccounted for," Levine Cava said.

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The building in Surfside collapsed in the early hours of June 24, nearly two weeks ago. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the collapse.

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Levine Cava said rescuers were lucky as the weather had cleared, with Tropical Storm&nbsp;Elsa&nbsp;making landfall on the Sunshine State's west coast.

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida outside Miami has risen to 46 after 10 more bodies were extracted from the rubble, as the number of people still unaccounted for dropped to 94, officials said Wednesday.

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida outside Miami has risen to 46 after 10 more bodies were extracted from the rubble, as the number of people still unaccounted for dropped to 94, officials said Wednesday. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said emergency personnel had been able to reach new areas in the pile of debris as a result of the demolition of Champlain Towers South in a controlled explosion over the weekend. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue to resume She told reporters that those efforts had brought "the total confirmed deaths to 46. Thirty-two of these victims have been identified and next of kin notifications have been made." "At this time, 200 people are now accounted for and 94 people are still unaccounted for," Levine Cava said. The building in Surfside collapsed in the early hours of June 24, nearly two weeks ago. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the collapse. Also read | Tropical Storm Elsa strengthens to hurricane as it closes in on Florida Levine Cava said rescuers were lucky as the weather had cleared, with Tropical Storm Elsa making landfall on the Sunshine State's west coast.

Florida building collapse toll rises to 46

The death toll from the collapse of an oceanfront condominium complex in Surfside, Florida has now risen to 28, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.&nbsp;

"Another victim has been retrieved from the wreckage of the fallen Champlain Towers South building, raising the death toll to 28," CNN said, quoting Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.&nbsp; 
 
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According to Cava, this indicates 117 people are still missing. Three more victims were found earlier in the wreckage of the collapsed Champlain Towers South building.

The other victims were discovered after search activities resumed around midnight Sunday night following the demolition of what remained left of the building.&nbsp;

The structure was demolished around 10:30 pm Sunday (local time) using a method Levine Cava called "energetic felling," describing it as a process that "uses small, strategically placed explosives and relies on gravity to bring the building down in place," CNN reported. 
 
Rescuers have removed more than 4 million pounds of concrete in the search for survivors of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside, Florida. 
 
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A large oceanfront condo building near Miami Beach partially collapsed last week, prompting a massive search-and-rescue response as many people were reported missing.

The cause of the collapse has yet to be determined. However, new information about the structural integrity revealed in a 2018 engineering assessment is becoming available.

Experts who have analysed the available data on the collapse suggest the investigation into the reason should concentrate on potential weaknesses around the building's base.&nbsp;

However, lightning and tropical weather conditions forced the search-and-rescue team to pause efforts once again.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

The death toll from the collapse of an oceanfront condominium complex in Surfside, Florida has now risen to 28, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

The death toll from the collapse of an oceanfront condominium complex in Surfside, Florida has now risen to 28, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. "Another victim has been retrieved from the wreckage of the fallen Champlain Towers South building, raising the death toll to 28," CNN said, quoting Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Also read | Lax enforcement let South Florida towers skirt inspections for years According to Cava, this indicates 117 people are still missing. Three more victims were found earlier in the wreckage of the collapsed Champlain Towers South building. The other victims were discovered after search activities resumed around midnight Sunday night following the demolition of what remained left of the building. The structure was demolished around 10:30 pm Sunday (local time) using a method Levine Cava called "energetic felling," describing it as a process that "uses small, strategically placed explosives and relies on gravity to bring the building down in place," CNN reported. Rescuers have removed more than 4 million pounds of concrete in the search for survivors of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside, Florida. Also read | Tropical storm Elsa churns past Haiti, headed for Cuba A large oceanfront condo building near Miami Beach partially collapsed last week, prompting a massive search-and-rescue response as many people were reported missing. The cause of the collapse has yet to be determined. However, new information about the structural integrity revealed in a 2018 engineering assessment is becoming available. Experts who have analysed the available data on the collapse suggest the investigation into the reason should concentrate on potential weaknesses around the building's base. However, lightning and tropical weather conditions forced the search-and-rescue team to pause efforts once again. (With inputs from agencies)

Florida building collapse: Death toll rises to 28, with 117 missing

Explosives have been used by demolition contractors in South Florida to bring down the remaining parts of a partially collapsed apartment building&nbsp;in a controlled demolition before Tropical Storm Elsa threatens the unstable structure.&nbsp; 
 
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So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing. Many others barely escaped.&nbsp;

Video footage showed the rest of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, outside Miami, being demolished just after 10:30 pm local time (0230 GMT). 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/florida-collapse-toll-now-24-rest-of-building-to-be-razed-soon-395699">Also read: Florida collapse toll now 24, rest of building to be razed soon</a>

Preparing the site for demolition ahead of the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa early next week had required that the search for victims be halted on Saturday. 
 
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The majority of the building collapsed in the early hours of June 24, releasing a massive cloud of dust and jolting Americans who had not anticipated such a catastrophic urban calamity.

The unstable surviving structure posed a threat to search and rescue crews still on the scene, authorities said, though prospects of finding anyone alive had faded.&nbsp;

 
<img alt="Florida apartment demolished" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3b3f868b-e212-4deb-b984-969effb37335" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_9DX3YK.jpg" /> 
 
People hug as they watch the rest of the Champlain South tower being demolished by a controlled explosion in Surfside, Florida, north of Miami Beach, late on July 4, 2021. &nbsp;(AFP Photo)

The video footage of the demolition showed smoke, dust and other debris blowing away from the site after the building came down following two loud booms.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava had announced the schedule at an earlier press conference, saying the operation would use "small, strategically placed explosives."

"The demolition itself is confined to the immediate area around the building," she said.

"However, there is dust and other particles that are an unavoidable byproduct of all types of demolition and, as a precautionary measure, we're urging residents in the immediate vicinity to stay indoors."

Storm threat

With Tropical Storm Elsa rumbling northward through the Caribbean, authorities accelerated the demolition schedule.

County mayor Levine Cava said "bringing the building down in a controlled manner is critical to expanding" the search operation as teams have been unable to delve further due to the risk of further collapses.

President Joe Biden visited the scene last week and met grieving relatives and rescue workers, hailing their resilience and strength. 
 
The collapse sparked a massive search-and-rescue effort involving engineers and specialists from across the United States and as far afield as Mexico and Israel.

Survivors reported being awakened around 1:30 am (0530 GMT) Thursday by what sounded like cracks of thunder that shook their rooms.

"It was like an earthquake," Janette Aguero, who escaped from the tower's 11th floor with her family, said.

Rescuers who arrived in the moments after the tower came down helped evacuate dozens of residents and pulled one teenage boy alive from the rubble.

No other survivors have been found, despite the deployment of sniffer dogs and cranes for lifting debris.

Experts are looking at possible pre-existing critical flaws in the building's structure.

A 2018 report released by city officials revealed fears of "major structural damage" in the complex, from the concrete slab under the pool deck to columns and beams in the parking garage. 
 
In a letter to residents in April, Jean Wodnicki, chair of the condo association, described "accelerating" damage to the 40-year-old building since then, and repairs had been set to begin soon.

Several cases of Covid-19 had been found among searchers. One team was pulled out and medical protocols put in place to isolate anyone affected. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Explosives have been used by demolition contractors in South Florida to bring down the remaining parts of a partially collapsed apartment building in a controlled demolition before Tropical Storm Elsa threatens the unstable structure.

Explosives have been used by demolition contractors in South Florida to bring down the remaining parts of a partially collapsed apartment building in a controlled demolition before Tropical Storm Elsa threatens the unstable structure. Also read | Lax enforcement let South Florida towers skirt inspections for years So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing. Many others barely escaped. Video footage showed the rest of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, outside Miami, being demolished just after 10:30 pm local time (0230 GMT). Also read: Florida collapse toll now 24, rest of building to be razed soon Preparing the site for demolition ahead of the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa early next week had required that the search for victims be halted on Saturday. Also read | Tropical storm Elsa churns past Haiti, headed for Cuba The majority of the building collapsed in the early hours of June 24, releasing a massive cloud of dust and jolting Americans who had not anticipated such a catastrophic urban calamity. The unstable surviving structure posed a threat to search and rescue crews still on the scene, authorities said, though prospects of finding anyone alive had faded. People hug as they watch the rest of the Champlain South tower being demolished by a controlled explosion in Surfside, Florida, north of Miami Beach, late on July 4, 2021. (AFP Photo) The video footage of the demolition showed smoke, dust and other debris blowing away from the site after the building came down following two loud booms. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava had announced the schedule at an earlier press conference, saying the operation would use "small, strategically placed explosives." "The demolition itself is confined to the immediate area around the building," she said. "However, there is dust and other particles that are an unavoidable byproduct of all types of demolition and, as a precautionary measure, we're urging residents in the immediate vicinity to stay indoors." Storm threat With Tropical Storm Elsa rumbling northward through the Caribbean, authorities accelerated the demolition schedule. County mayor Levine Cava said "bringing the building down in a controlled manner is critical to expanding" the search operation as teams have been unable to delve further due to the risk of further collapses. President Joe Biden visited the scene last week and met grieving relatives and rescue workers, hailing their resilience and strength. The collapse sparked a massive search-and-rescue effort involving engineers and specialists from across the United States and as far afield as Mexico and Israel. Survivors reported being awakened around 1:30 am (0530 GMT) Thursday by what sounded like cracks of thunder that shook their rooms. "It was like an earthquake," Janette Aguero, who escaped from the tower's 11th floor with her family, said. Rescuers who arrived in the moments after the tower came down helped evacuate dozens of residents and pulled one teenage boy alive from the rubble. No other survivors have been found, despite the deployment of sniffer dogs and cranes for lifting debris. Experts are looking at possible pre-existing critical flaws in the building's structure. A 2018 report released by city officials revealed fears of "major structural damage" in the complex, from the concrete slab under the pool deck to columns and beams in the parking garage. In a letter to residents in April, Jean Wodnicki, chair of the condo association, described "accelerating" damage to the 40-year-old building since then, and repairs had been set to begin soon. Several cases of Covid-19 had been found among searchers. One team was pulled out and medical protocols put in place to isolate anyone affected. (With inputs from agencies)

Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue to resume

Out of the smoke and cinders of a city convulsed by race riots and an immigration crisis, the towers kept rising, each new development remaking Miami’s skyline in the early 1980s and marking an ambitious bet that the battered community would turn itself around.

Over the next 40 years, high-rises like Champlain Towers, in the sleepy, beachfront enclave of Surfside, stood witness to Miami’s remarkable rebound, luxurious, multistory symbols of endurance — of booms and busts but also the harsh South Florida elements: scorching sun and driving rains, battering winds and slashing saltwater.

Florida’s high-rise building regulations have long been among the strictest in the nation. But after parts of Champlain Towers South tumbled down on June 24, killing at least 24 people and leaving 121 unaccounted for, evidence has mounted that those rules have been enforced unevenly by local governments, and sometimes not at all.

Miami-Dade County officials said last week that they were prioritizing reviews of 24 multistory buildings that either had failed major structural or electrical inspections required after 40 years or had not submitted the reports in the first place. But the county’s own records show that 17 of those cases had been open for a year or more. Two cases were against properties owned by the county itself. The oldest case had sat unresolved since 2008.

In the tiny town of Bay Harbor Islands, two teardrops of land in Biscayne Bay that lie just north and west of Surfside, more than a dozen multistory structures or large commercial buildings that had been scheduled to turn in inspection reports had not submitted them as of last week, records show. One property appeared to be more than seven years late in filing.

The city of North Miami Beach had tried and failed for years to bring a 10-story condo building within its borders, Crestview Towers, into compliance with the 40-year recertification requirements. When the building’s condo association finally submitted the required paperwork last week, about nine years late, it documented critical safety concerns, a city spokesperson said. Officials evacuated the building Friday.

Meanwhile, the same local governments were pursuing a haphazard approach to identifying other potentially unsafe buildings across the region, with the age and height criteria that would prompt added scrutiny varying from one place to the next. At least one local government, the village of Key Biscayne, was opting to conduct no extra inspections at all, an official there said.

Even if building auditors focus only on towers of 10 stories or more that were built in the 1970s and 1980s, the task would still be daunting. An analysis of property records by The New York Times shows that at least 270 such buildings dot the skylines of Miami-Dade County’s cities, villages and towns, with dozens more in the county’s unincorporated reaches.

Investigators have yet to determine whether the Champlain Towers South collapse was caused by inherent structural problems, a lack of needed maintenance or some other, unknown factor. They were forced to pause work at the site last week amid concerns that the portions of the building that were still standing had become unstable and could collapse at any time. On Sunday, officials demolished the remainder of the building as a tropical storm bore down on Florida from the Caribbean.

The patchwork response to the Champlain Towers South collapse, and lack of answers about what caused the building to fall, were doing little to ease the minds of South Florida condo residents, some of whom had begun to eye their waterfront homes with sudden fear. Such concerns only intensified over the weekend after local officials evacuated a second building, this time a three-story structure in Miami Beach with 24 condo units, after authorities found a failure in the flooring system and “excessive deflection on an exterior wall.”

“Every time there is a noise or a rumble, you start to think, ‘How safe is this building?’” Albert M. Barg, 77, said of his 23-story condo building in Sunny Isles Beach. The answer, he added, was “I don’t know.”

Dyann Piltser, 49, said she had put her Sunny Isles Beach condo up for sale. “I just don’t want to live in such a large building,” she said, “with so many elements beyond your control.”

Built Amid Turmoil

Miami is packed with multistory buildings that have spent decades exposed to sun, rain, winds and saltwater.

Some went up during Miami’s art deco heyday in the 1930s and 1940s. Others rose during an era of explosive growth in the 1950s and 1960s. Records show that more than 57 high-rises were built on barrier islands surrounding the city from 1970 to 1979.

The buildings of the early 1980s took shape against a backdrop of turmoil and economic uncertainty. In May 1980, rioters looted and burned large areas of the city, enraged at the acquittal of four police officers who had beaten an unarmed Black man to death during a traffic stop. Scores of Cubans and Haitians were coming ashore each day in a mass immigration event that would leave Miami’s public safety and social service agencies overwhelmed under the weight of some 150,000 new arrivals.

The combined effect was an exodus that pushed down property values in the city and surrounding communities, which had their own problems. South Beach was so awash in crime in 1980 that many were afraid even to walk its streets, said Merrett Stierheim, who was the county manager at the time. “I remember putting my feet on the floor and asking myself, ‘What in the hell is next?’” Stierheim recalled of those days. “It was a long struggle for Miami-Dade and all our cities to get a handle on this.”

In 1981, the year the Champlain Towers buildings were completed, Time magazine published a cover story titled, “Paradise Lost?” that singled out South Florida for its high rates of violent crime and drug smuggling.

The project’s developer, a Toronto lawyer and businessman named Nathan Reiber, who died in 2014, had run afoul of Canadian tax authorities before moving to Florida in the 1970s, and he eventually would plead guilty to a tax evasion charge in Canada, The Hamilton Spectator in Ontario reported. While the Champlain Towers were being built, other developers criticized city officials for accepting campaign contributions from the project in exchange for helping it along.

Grand jury inquiries through the 1980s and 1990s documented slipshod work by Miami-area building inspectors, though much of that scrutiny focused on inspections of single-family homes. Other criminal investigations have singled out government employees for taking gifts from developers, including, most recently, the top building official in Miami Beach.

Still, there was no evidence that high-rise buildings constructed during that era have been any more prone to problems than others, engineering experts and builders said.

Residents and visitors of older buildings across the Miami area in recent days have posted photos and videos of failing concrete and other problems on social media, but such defects are often superficial and not cause for alarm. “All concrete cracks — it’s made to crack,” said Allyn Kilsheimer, a structural engineer hired by Surfside to help investigate the Champlain Towers collapse. “The issue is to understand what the crack is, what might have caused it if anything, and then making sure it doesn’t cause more problems.”

Property data shows that more than 30 high-rises were built in coastal Miami areas from the late 1970s to the late 1980s, and records and interviews suggest that their states of repair vary widely from building to building.

Eleven of those towers were 12 stories or higher and built in the three years preceding the construction of Champlain Towers South. All are now past the age at which they should have submitted reports proving they had been scrutinized by an engineer for structural and electrical problems.

In one such report, an engineer noted last year that several concrete support columns had deteriorated in the parking garage of Winston Towers 700, a 23-story condo building in Sunny Isles Beach built in 1980. The problem most likely occurred as a result of pool chemicals leaking onto them from above, the engineer wrote, noting that while the columns appeared to have been properly shored up, they would have to be repaired before he would certify the building as safe. It was not clear whether the work was completed.

In another report, for the 19-story Bal Harbour 101 on Collins Avenue, less than 2 miles north of where the Champlain Towers stood, the engineering inspector documented a need for concrete repairs to the pool deck and waterproofing of the building’s north deck but concluded that the overall building structure was in good condition. Even so, he noted, concrete spalling and corrosion of reinforcement metal in the pool’s pump room would require significant structural repairs.

Recertification regulations required the building to complete an inspection report around 2018, when the building turned 40. But the process lagged, and records show that the village did not certify that the high-rise was in compliance until July 1 — a week after the Champlain Towers South collapse.

The condo building’s manager, Igor Bond, said Friday that he had been getting calls from concerned residents for a week. “They’re asking me about how safe the building is,” Bond said, “and we’re telling them, ‘Absolutely!’ ”

The condo association’s president did not respond to a request for comment.

Uneven Enforcement

Unlike the standards for single-family homes, which were blasted by critics after entire neighborhoods were wiped out by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the regulations for multistory structures have been among the toughest in the nation since the 1950s, builders and engineers said. One major reason: Many of the area’s first high-rises went up along the ocean, and officials wanted to be sure they could stand up to hurricane winds, flooding and rain.

“Permits and the codes were always tough in South Florida,” said Oscar Sklar, an architect and builder who helped complete Champlain Towers East in Surfside in 1994. “I don’t think it was any more lenient before than now.”

The regulations became even tougher in the 1970s, when the collapse of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration building led to the 40-year recertification requirements.

They were strengthened once more in the mid-1980s, after a condo complex in Cocoa Beach, which is about 60 miles east of Orlando, collapsed during construction, killing 11 workers. That change required developers to hire independent inspectors to monitor the structural integrity of multistory development projects as they progressed, but it was not in effect when Champlain Towers South was going up in 1981.

Even so, buildings across the region have racked up histories of violations, allowed to linger in some cases as a result of spotty compliance and enforcement.

Bay Harbor Islands, for one, has struggled to bring all of its buildings into compliance with the tough recertification rules. Fourteen structures were supposed to submit 40-year inspection reports in 2020.

Six of those never responded to notices, records show. The town sent certified letters to three property owners, but the letters were returned. Four other buildings submitted reports but were rejected because the buildings needed to do more work.

As of last week, town records listed only one building as having successfully completed the process.

“The small number of buildings that have yet to comply with the 40-year inspection have already received a notice of violation, and they are subject to fines if they do not timely comply with the certification process,” Maria Lasday, the town manager of Bay Harbor Islands, said in an email.

In North Miami Beach, where Crestview Towers was evacuated Friday, the city said it had fined the building for noncompliance repeatedly, though it was not clear whether it had ever collected any money from the property.

It was only after the Champlain Towers collapse that Crestview turned in its 40-year recertification report, which had been completed in January. A lawyer for the condo board said the board had assumed the engineer conducting the inspection had shared findings with the city, but that was apparently not the case.

“The very first page of the report, once we got it, said, ‘This building is unsafe,’” said Willis Howard, the spokesperson for North Miami Beach.

Holman J. Pérez, who had to leave his eighth-floor apartment Friday night with his wife and two children, faulted the building’s management but also the city.

“Why did the city allow this?” he said, standing outside the building. “How can they have a report that was made in January and just not turn it in to anyone? Aren’t they the ones in charge of this?”

Methodology

The New York Times combined multiple data sets from Miami-Dade County’s Open Data Hub for this analysis. Building footprint data was used to link structures to parcels. Each structure’s age was obtained from county property records. When a building’s construction year was not available, it was taken from Emporis, a website that provides building data for cities across the world. The building footprint data was last updated in April 2019, and some buildings in the data may no longer exist. For some recent large developments, the Times manually added those buildings to the data. In cases where a parcel includes buildings built over multiple years, the oldest construction date was assigned to all buildings.

Out of the smoke and cinders of a city convulsed by race riots and an immigration crisis, the towers kept rising, each new development remaking Miami’s skyline in the early 1980s and marking an ambitious bet that the battered community would turn itself around.

Out of the smoke and cinders of a city convulsed by race riots and an immigration crisis, the towers kept rising, each new development remaking Miami’s skyline in the early 1980s and marking an ambitious bet that the battered community would turn itself around. Over the next 40 years, high-rises like Champlain Towers, in the sleepy, beachfront enclave of Surfside, stood witness to Miami’s remarkable rebound, luxurious, multistory symbols of endurance — of booms and busts but also the harsh South Florida elements: scorching sun and driving rains, battering winds and slashing saltwater. Florida’s high-rise building regulations have long been among the strictest in the nation. But after parts of Champlain Towers South tumbled down on June 24, killing at least 24 people and leaving 121 unaccounted for, evidence has mounted that those rules have been enforced unevenly by local governments, and sometimes not at all. Miami-Dade County officials said last week that they were prioritizing reviews of 24 multistory buildings that either had failed major structural or electrical inspections required after 40 years or had not submitted the reports in the first place. But the county’s own records show that 17 of those cases had been open for a year or more. Two cases were against properties owned by the county itself. The oldest case had sat unresolved since 2008. In the tiny town of Bay Harbor Islands, two teardrops of land in Biscayne Bay that lie just north and west of Surfside, more than a dozen multistory structures or large commercial buildings that had been scheduled to turn in inspection reports had not submitted them as of last week, records show. One property appeared to be more than seven years late in filing. The city of North Miami Beach had tried and failed for years to bring a 10-story condo building within its borders, Crestview Towers, into compliance with the 40-year recertification requirements. When the building’s condo association finally submitted the required paperwork last week, about nine years late, it documented critical safety concerns, a city spokesperson said. Officials evacuated the building Friday. Meanwhile, the same local governments were pursuing a haphazard approach to identifying other potentially unsafe buildings across the region, with the age and height criteria that would prompt added scrutiny varying from one place to the next. At least one local government, the village of Key Biscayne, was opting to conduct no extra inspections at all, an official there said. Even if building auditors focus only on towers of 10 stories or more that were built in the 1970s and 1980s, the task would still be daunting. An analysis of property records by The New York Times shows that at least 270 such buildings dot the skylines of Miami-Dade County’s cities, villages and towns, with dozens more in the county’s unincorporated reaches. Investigators have yet to determine whether the Champlain Towers South collapse was caused by inherent structural problems, a lack of needed maintenance or some other, unknown factor. They were forced to pause work at the site last week amid concerns that the portions of the building that were still standing had become unstable and could collapse at any time. On Sunday, officials demolished the remainder of the building as a tropical storm bore down on Florida from the Caribbean. The patchwork response to the Champlain Towers South collapse, and lack of answers about what caused the building to fall, were doing little to ease the minds of South Florida condo residents, some of whom had begun to eye their waterfront homes with sudden fear. Such concerns only intensified over the weekend after local officials evacuated a second building, this time a three-story structure in Miami Beach with 24 condo units, after authorities found a failure in the flooring system and “excessive deflection on an exterior wall.” “Every time there is a noise or a rumble, you start to think, ‘How safe is this building?’” Albert M. Barg, 77, said of his 23-story condo building in Sunny Isles Beach. The answer, he added, was “I don’t know.” Dyann Piltser, 49, said she had put her Sunny Isles Beach condo up for sale. “I just don’t want to live in such a large building,” she said, “with so many elements beyond your control.” Built Amid Turmoil Miami is packed with multistory buildings that have spent decades exposed to sun, rain, winds and saltwater. Some went up during Miami’s art deco heyday in the 1930s and 1940s. Others rose during an era of explosive growth in the 1950s and 1960s. Records show that more than 57 high-rises were built on barrier islands surrounding the city from 1970 to 1979. The buildings of the early 1980s took shape against a backdrop of turmoil and economic uncertainty. In May 1980, rioters looted and burned large areas of the city, enraged at the acquittal of four police officers who had beaten an unarmed Black man to death during a traffic stop. Scores of Cubans and Haitians were coming ashore each day in a mass immigration event that would leave Miami’s public safety and social service agencies overwhelmed under the weight of some 150,000 new arrivals. The combined effect was an exodus that pushed down property values in the city and surrounding communities, which had their own problems. South Beach was so awash in crime in 1980 that many were afraid even to walk its streets, said Merrett Stierheim, who was the county manager at the time. “I remember putting my feet on the floor and asking myself, ‘What in the hell is next?’” Stierheim recalled of those days. “It was a long struggle for Miami-Dade and all our cities to get a handle on this.” In 1981, the year the Champlain Towers buildings were completed, Time magazine published a cover story titled, “Paradise Lost?” that singled out South Florida for its high rates of violent crime and drug smuggling. The project’s developer, a Toronto lawyer and businessman named Nathan Reiber, who died in 2014, had run afoul of Canadian tax authorities before moving to Florida in the 1970s, and he eventually would plead guilty to a tax evasion charge in Canada, The Hamilton Spectator in Ontario reported. While the Champlain Towers were being built, other developers criticized city officials for accepting campaign contributions from the project in exchange for helping it along. Grand jury inquiries through the 1980s and 1990s documented slipshod work by Miami-area building inspectors, though much of that scrutiny focused on inspections of single-family homes. Other criminal investigations have singled out government employees for taking gifts from developers, including, most recently, the top building official in Miami Beach. Still, there was no evidence that high-rise buildings constructed during that era have been any more prone to problems than others, engineering experts and builders said. Residents and visitors of older buildings across the Miami area in recent days have posted photos and videos of failing concrete and other problems on social media, but such defects are often superficial and not cause for alarm. “All concrete cracks — it’s made to crack,” said Allyn Kilsheimer, a structural engineer hired by Surfside to help investigate the Champlain Towers collapse. “The issue is to understand what the crack is, what might have caused it if anything, and then making sure it doesn’t cause more problems.” Property data shows that more than 30 high-rises were built in coastal Miami areas from the late 1970s to the late 1980s, and records and interviews suggest that their states of repair vary widely from building to building. Eleven of those towers were 12 stories or higher and built in the three years preceding the construction of Champlain Towers South. All are now past the age at which they should have submitted reports proving they had been scrutinized by an engineer for structural and electrical problems. In one such report, an engineer noted last year that several concrete support columns had deteriorated in the parking garage of Winston Towers 700, a 23-story condo building in Sunny Isles Beach built in 1980. The problem most likely occurred as a result of pool chemicals leaking onto them from above, the engineer wrote, noting that while the columns appeared to have been properly shored up, they would have to be repaired before he would certify the building as safe. It was not clear whether the work was completed. In another report, for the 19-story Bal Harbour 101 on Collins Avenue, less than 2 miles north of where the Champlain Towers stood, the engineering inspector documented a need for concrete repairs to the pool deck and waterproofing of the building’s north deck but concluded that the overall building structure was in good condition. Even so, he noted, concrete spalling and corrosion of reinforcement metal in the pool’s pump room would require significant structural repairs. Recertification regulations required the building to complete an inspection report around 2018, when the building turned 40. But the process lagged, and records show that the village did not certify that the high-rise was in compliance until July 1 — a week after the Champlain Towers South collapse. The condo building’s manager, Igor Bond, said Friday that he had been getting calls from concerned residents for a week. “They’re asking me about how safe the building is,” Bond said, “and we’re telling them, ‘Absolutely!’ ” The condo association’s president did not respond to a request for comment. Uneven Enforcement Unlike the standards for single-family homes, which were blasted by critics after entire neighborhoods were wiped out by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the regulations for multistory structures have been among the toughest in the nation since the 1950s, builders and engineers said. One major reason: Many of the area’s first high-rises went up along the ocean, and officials wanted to be sure they could stand up to hurricane winds, flooding and rain. “Permits and the codes were always tough in South Florida,” said Oscar Sklar, an architect and builder who helped complete Champlain Towers East in Surfside in 1994. “I don’t think it was any more lenient before than now.” The regulations became even tougher in the 1970s, when the collapse of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration building led to the 40-year recertification requirements. They were strengthened once more in the mid-1980s, after a condo complex in Cocoa Beach, which is about 60 miles east of Orlando, collapsed during construction, killing 11 workers. That change required developers to hire independent inspectors to monitor the structural integrity of multistory development projects as they progressed, but it was not in effect when Champlain Towers South was going up in 1981. Even so, buildings across the region have racked up histories of violations, allowed to linger in some cases as a result of spotty compliance and enforcement. Bay Harbor Islands, for one, has struggled to bring all of its buildings into compliance with the tough recertification rules. Fourteen structures were supposed to submit 40-year inspection reports in 2020. Six of those never responded to notices, records show. The town sent certified letters to three property owners, but the letters were returned. Four other buildings submitted reports but were rejected because the buildings needed to do more work. As of last week, town records listed only one building as having successfully completed the process. “The small number of buildings that have yet to comply with the 40-year inspection have already received a notice of violation, and they are subject to fines if they do not timely comply with the certification process,” Maria Lasday, the town manager of Bay Harbor Islands, said in an email. In North Miami Beach, where Crestview Towers was evacuated Friday, the city said it had fined the building for noncompliance repeatedly, though it was not clear whether it had ever collected any money from the property. It was only after the Champlain Towers collapse that Crestview turned in its 40-year recertification report, which had been completed in January. A lawyer for the condo board said the board had assumed the engineer conducting the inspection had shared findings with the city, but that was apparently not the case. “The very first page of the report, once we got it, said, ‘This building is unsafe,’” said Willis Howard, the spokesperson for North Miami Beach. Holman J. Pérez, who had to leave his eighth-floor apartment Friday night with his wife and two children, faulted the building’s management but also the city. “Why did the city allow this?” he said, standing outside the building. “How can they have a report that was made in January and just not turn it in to anyone? Aren’t they the ones in charge of this?” Methodology The New York Times combined multiple data sets from Miami-Dade County’s Open Data Hub for this analysis. Building footprint data was used to link structures to parcels. Each structure’s age was obtained from county property records. When a building’s construction year was not available, it was taken from Emporis, a website that provides building data for cities across the world. The building footprint data was last updated in April 2019, and some buildings in the data may no longer exist. For some recent large developments, the Times manually added those buildings to the data. In cases where a parcel includes buildings built over multiple years, the oldest construction date was assigned to all buildings.

Lax enforcement let South Florida towers skirt inspections for years

United Hatzalah of Israel, Israel’s largest all-volunteer EMS organization, sent a team from its Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit (PCRU) to provide psychological support to the families and neighbors of those injured, killed, or affected by the tragedy.

Florida Condo Collapse: Israelis fight despair while aiding survivors

Controlled explosion brings down unstable remains of collapsed apartment block in Florida

Searchers recovered two more bodies to bring the death toll in the Florida apartment block collapse to 24, authorities said Saturday, as the search for victims paused in the afternoon so demolition crews could prepare to bring down the part of the building still standing.

The razing took on special urgency as Tropical Storm Elsa churned in the Caribbean, following a path expected to bring it to Florida early next week.

"Search and rescue does have to pause temporarily while the demolition preparation is underway. There is threat to the standing building that is posed to the first responders" as crews drill into columns of the damaged building, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.

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"We will begin the search and rescue once again on any sections of the pile that are safe to access as soon as we're cleared."

Nine days after the collapse in the town of Surfside, 121 people are still listed as missing, Levine Cava said.&nbsp;

Hopes of finding anyone alive are fast diminishing.&nbsp;

Most of the 12-story Champlain Towers South building collapsed in the early hours of June 24, sending up a huge cloud of dust and rattling Americans unprepared for such a deadly urban disaster.

With Tropical Storm Elsa rumbling northward through the Caribbean, just shy of hurricane force -- and headed, for now, straight for Florida -- authorities are accelerating plans to demolish the remaining part of the structure.

Also read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/tropical-storm-elsa-churns-past-haiti-headed-for-cuba-395659" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/tropical-storm-elsa-churns-past-haiti-headed-for-cuba-395659&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjEtbDp-MjxAhX1meYKHXgDDhAQFjADegQICBAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw2bNdEFrfR0yL3KH34XGFwc" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tropical-storm-elsa-churns-past-haiti-headed-for-cuba-395659" target="_blank">Tropical storm Elsa churns past Haiti, headed for Cuba</a>

Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters demolition work could be completed before Elsa arrives, probably on Tuesday.

Authorities had previously said the work could take weeks, but DeSantis, a Republican, said accelerating demolition was only prudent.

He said demolition could be completed within 36 hours -- entailing "minimal work stoppage from the search and rescue teams" -- and that work sifting through the existing debris could resume as soon as it is clear that no fires have erupted.&nbsp;

Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky said meanwhile several cases of Covid-19 had been detected in one team of searchers.&nbsp;

That team, he said, had been demobilized, and medical protocols put in place to isolate anyone affected.&nbsp;

Searchers recovered two more bodies to bring the death toll in the Florida apartment block collapse to 24, authorities said Saturday, as the search for victims paused in the afternoon so demolition crews could prepare to bring down the part of the building still standing.

Searchers recovered two more bodies to bring the death toll in the Florida apartment block collapse to 24, authorities said Saturday, as the search for victims paused in the afternoon so demolition crews could prepare to bring down the part of the building still standing. The razing took on special urgency as Tropical Storm Elsa churned in the Caribbean, following a path expected to bring it to Florida early next week. "Search and rescue does have to pause temporarily while the demolition preparation is underway. There is threat to the standing building that is posed to the first responders" as crews drill into columns of the damaged building, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. Also read | Donald Trump holds rally in Florida; questions Biden's presidency "We will begin the search and rescue once again on any sections of the pile that are safe to access as soon as we're cleared." Nine days after the collapse in the town of Surfside, 121 people are still listed as missing, Levine Cava said. Hopes of finding anyone alive are fast diminishing. Most of the 12-story Champlain Towers South building collapsed in the early hours of June 24, sending up a huge cloud of dust and rattling Americans unprepared for such a deadly urban disaster. With Tropical Storm Elsa rumbling northward through the Caribbean, just shy of hurricane force -- and headed, for now, straight for Florida -- authorities are accelerating plans to demolish the remaining part of the structure. Also read | Tropical storm Elsa churns past Haiti, headed for Cuba Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters demolition work could be completed before Elsa arrives, probably on Tuesday. Authorities had previously said the work could take weeks, but DeSantis, a Republican, said accelerating demolition was only prudent. He said demolition could be completed within 36 hours -- entailing "minimal work stoppage from the search and rescue teams" -- and that work sifting through the existing debris could resume as soon as it is clear that no fires have erupted. Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky said meanwhile several cases of Covid-19 had been detected in one team of searchers. That team, he said, had been demobilized, and medical protocols put in place to isolate anyone affected.

Florida collapse toll now 24, rest of building to be razed soon

Six more bodies have been found in the shattered ruins of a Miami-area condominium tower over the past 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 18 nearly a week after the building collapsed.

More bodies were found overnight in the shattered ruins of a collapsed building in a town near Miami,&nbsp;Florida.

Over 140 people are still unaccounted for nearly a week after the building fell in Surfside.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava briefed reporters on Wednesday.

"And I want to thank them once again for their tremendous, tremendous effort. The world is watching. Their bravery, putting themselves in harm's way to find people in the rubble."

Nobody has been pulled alive from the debris since the early hours of the disaster.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/president-jinping-hails-irreversible-rise-of-china-on-communist-party-centenary-395051">Also Read |&nbsp;President Jinping hails 'irreversible' rise of China on Communist Party centenary</a>

Trauma surgeon Michael Libirian has been at the site for nearly a week.

"I've been a trauma surgeon for around eleven years and this has been emotionally the most difficult thing I've ever had to endure. I think a lot of us, including myself, a lot of our task force members who I work with are separated from these missing people by only one or two degrees."

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett and other officials and rescuers still harbour hope of finding survivors.

That's even though the search has become more difficult from the heat and intermittent showers.

Miami Dade Fire Rescue Battalion Chief, Mark Chavers:

"The hope is there. Even if it's just one more. If it's five more, great. But one more, that would make all the difference in the world this late in the game."

Investigators still do not know what caused nearly half of the Champlain Towers South condo to crumple.

But a 2018 engineer's report found structural deficiencies in the 40-year-old tower.

President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill are expected to visit the scene of the tragedy on Thursday.

Six more bodies have been found in the shattered ruins of a Miami-area condominium tower over the past 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 18 nearly a week after the building collapsed.

Six more bodies have been found in the shattered ruins of a Miami-area condominium tower over the past 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 18 nearly a week after the building collapsed. More bodies were found overnight in the shattered ruins of a collapsed building in a town near Miami, Florida. Over 140 people are still unaccounted for nearly a week after the building fell in Surfside. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava briefed reporters on Wednesday. "And I want to thank them once again for their tremendous, tremendous effort. The world is watching. Their bravery, putting themselves in harm's way to find people in the rubble." Nobody has been pulled alive from the debris since the early hours of the disaster. Also Read | President Jinping hails 'irreversible' rise of China on Communist Party centenary Trauma surgeon Michael Libirian has been at the site for nearly a week. "I've been a trauma surgeon for around eleven years and this has been emotionally the most difficult thing I've ever had to endure. I think a lot of us, including myself, a lot of our task force members who I work with are separated from these missing people by only one or two degrees." Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett and other officials and rescuers still harbour hope of finding survivors. That's even though the search has become more difficult from the heat and intermittent showers. Miami Dade Fire Rescue Battalion Chief, Mark Chavers: "The hope is there. Even if it's just one more. If it's five more, great. But one more, that would make all the difference in the world this late in the game." Investigators still do not know what caused nearly half of the Champlain Towers South condo to crumple. But a 2018 engineer's report found structural deficiencies in the 40-year-old tower. President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill are expected to visit the scene of the tragedy on Thursday.

Death toll rises to 18 in Florida condo collapse

The death toll after the collapse of a Florida apartment tower rose to nine, officials said Sunday, with more than 150 people still missing and their weary families waiting nearly four days for information as to their fate. 
 
The outlook grew increasingly grim by the hour, however, as the slow rescue operation, involving workers sorting nonstop through the rubble in torrid heat and high humidity, carried on.

Four new bodies and other human remains were found after rescuers dug an enormous trench -- 125 feet long, 20 feet wide and 40 feet deep (38 by 6 by 12 meters) -- through the mountain of debris, according to the Miami-Dade County mayor.

"As of now, the number of confirmed fatalities remains at nine," Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters in Surfside, near Miami Beach. She had said earlier that one victim had died in hospital.

"We have identified an additional four of the victims" for a total of eight identified, she said during a Sunday evening press conference. "We're working to notify those next of kin first."

Six to eight squads, backed by two huge cranes and aided by sniffer dogs, are "on the pile actually searching at any given time," she added.

She also said that "we did give all of the families an opportunity to privately visit the site."

More than 100 people visited the site over the course of the day. Each of the three groups -- one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening -- was bused by the Miami-Dade police and fire departments and allowed to stay for an hour.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said debris with "forensic value" is being taken to a large warehouse to be inspected as investigators seek to determine the cause of the collapse.

And Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said accommodation was being found for anyone wishing to evacuate the tower's nearly identical "sister" building a block away, though no structural problems have yet been identified there.

International effort 
Israeli and Mexican engineers and search-and-rescue specialists have joined an army of American workers at the site.

Teams in protective gear have been toiling round the clock since the early-morning Thursday collapse, but are only able to work a half-hour at a time before handing the job to the next crew.

"We don't have a resource problem," Burkett told ABC's "This Week." "We have a luck problem. We need to get more lucky right now."

The 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South pancaked in the middle of the night Thursday as residents slept. Surveillance video of the collapse showed it coming down in just a few seconds.

Jake Samuelson's grandparents, Arnie and Myriam Notkin, are among those missing, although his mother continues to receive phone calls from their landline, with only static on the other end, the family told local media.

"We are trying to rationalize what is happening here, we are trying to get answers," Samuelson told Local 10 news, unaware whether the calls were from his grandparents or mechanical failure.

President Joe Biden said Sunday his administration would coordinate with local officials and was "ready to provide any support or assistance that is needed."

"This is an unimaginably difficult time for the families enduring this tragedy," he said in a statement. "My&nbsp;heart goes out to every single person suffering during this awful moment."

'Make every effort' 
Many members of the local Jewish community were among those affected by the tragedy, and Israel had vowed to help with the agonising search. 
 
"This is one of the best, if not the best, and the most experienced rescue teams, Israeli rescue teams," Israeli diaspora affairs minister Nachman Shai said as the team arrived early Sunday.

About half of Surfside's population is Jewish, including many members of the Hasidic Chabad-Lubavitch movement, according to the Israeli media.&nbsp; 
 
So far, four victims have been identified by local police: Gladys and Antonio Lozano, respectively aged 79 and 83; 54-year-old Stacie Fang, whose 15-year-old son was rescued from the debris Thursday; and Manuel LaFont, also 54.&nbsp; 
 
At least 18 Latin American nationals are among the missing -- including Uruguayans, Argentines and Paraguayans. Canada has also said at least four of its citizens may be "affected," without elaborating.

Families of the missing have expressed mounting frustration and anger at the wait as concerns grow about the building's condition before the collapse. Officials who spoke Sunday repeatedly sought to reassure them that everything possible is being done.

"We're moving as fast as we can, as hard as we can," Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky told reporters.

Anger was fanned by news Friday that an engineer's survey of the building in 2018 had pointed to "major structural damage" to a concrete slab beneath a ground-level pool deck, as well as "abundant" damage inside the parking garage.

Authorities have stressed that the reason for the collapse could take months to determine.

The death toll after the collapse of a Florida apartment tower rose to nine, officials said Sunday, with more than 150 people still missing and their weary families waiting nearly four days for information as to their fate.

The death toll after the collapse of a Florida apartment tower rose to nine, officials said Sunday, with more than 150 people still missing and their weary families waiting nearly four days for information as to their fate. The outlook grew increasingly grim by the hour, however, as the slow rescue operation, involving workers sorting nonstop through the rubble in torrid heat and high humidity, carried on. Four new bodies and other human remains were found after rescuers dug an enormous trench -- 125 feet long, 20 feet wide and 40 feet deep (38 by 6 by 12 meters) -- through the mountain of debris, according to the Miami-Dade County mayor. "As of now, the number of confirmed fatalities remains at nine," Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters in Surfside, near Miami Beach. She had said earlier that one victim had died in hospital. "We have identified an additional four of the victims" for a total of eight identified, she said during a Sunday evening press conference. "We're working to notify those next of kin first." Six to eight squads, backed by two huge cranes and aided by sniffer dogs, are "on the pile actually searching at any given time," she added. She also said that "we did give all of the families an opportunity to privately visit the site." More than 100 people visited the site over the course of the day. Each of the three groups -- one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening -- was bused by the Miami-Dade police and fire departments and allowed to stay for an hour. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said debris with "forensic value" is being taken to a large warehouse to be inspected as investigators seek to determine the cause of the collapse. And Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said accommodation was being found for anyone wishing to evacuate the tower's nearly identical "sister" building a block away, though no structural problems have yet been identified there. International effort Israeli and Mexican engineers and search-and-rescue specialists have joined an army of American workers at the site. Teams in protective gear have been toiling round the clock since the early-morning Thursday collapse, but are only able to work a half-hour at a time before handing the job to the next crew. "We don't have a resource problem," Burkett told ABC's "This Week." "We have a luck problem. We need to get more lucky right now." The 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South pancaked in the middle of the night Thursday as residents slept. Surveillance video of the collapse showed it coming down in just a few seconds. Jake Samuelson's grandparents, Arnie and Myriam Notkin, are among those missing, although his mother continues to receive phone calls from their landline, with only static on the other end, the family told local media. "We are trying to rationalize what is happening here, we are trying to get answers," Samuelson told Local 10 news, unaware whether the calls were from his grandparents or mechanical failure. President Joe Biden said Sunday his administration would coordinate with local officials and was "ready to provide any support or assistance that is needed." "This is an unimaginably difficult time for the families enduring this tragedy," he said in a statement. "My heart goes out to every single person suffering during this awful moment." 'Make every effort' Many members of the local Jewish community were among those affected by the tragedy, and Israel had vowed to help with the agonising search. "This is one of the best, if not the best, and the most experienced rescue teams, Israeli rescue teams," Israeli diaspora affairs minister Nachman Shai said as the team arrived early Sunday. About half of Surfside's population is Jewish, including many members of the Hasidic Chabad-Lubavitch movement, according to the Israeli media. So far, four victims have been identified by local police: Gladys and Antonio Lozano, respectively aged 79 and 83; 54-year-old Stacie Fang, whose 15-year-old son was rescued from the debris Thursday; and Manuel LaFont, also 54. At least 18 Latin American nationals are among the missing -- including Uruguayans, Argentines and Paraguayans. Canada has also said at least four of its citizens may be "affected," without elaborating. Families of the missing have expressed mounting frustration and anger at the wait as concerns grow about the building's condition before the collapse. Officials who spoke Sunday repeatedly sought to reassure them that everything possible is being done. "We're moving as fast as we can, as hard as we can," Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky told reporters. Anger was fanned by news Friday that an engineer's survey of the building in 2018 had pointed to "major structural damage" to a concrete slab beneath a ground-level pool deck, as well as "abundant" damage inside the parking garage. Authorities have stressed that the reason for the collapse could take months to determine.

Florida apartment collapse: Death toll climbs to nine as rescuers race to find survivors

Rescuers are still searching for survivors in the rubble of the collapsed Florida apartment tower, but the pressure is building;&nbsp;from families of missing residents to the state's governor; for answers on how such a disaster could have occurred.

A wing of the oceanfront complex suddenly pancaked on itself around 1:30 am (05:30 GMT) Thursday, with 55 apartments collapsing in a cloud of dust, leaving 159 people still missing on Friday.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/florida-building-partially-collapses-emergency-search-underway-see-pics-393699">Florida building partially collapses; emergency search underway | See pics</a>

Completed in 1981, Champlain Towers South was due to be recertified this year in line with Miami-Dade county safety regulations, which require a review every 40 years, and roof work was ongoing as part of that process.

But county officials stressed there was no indication of a causal link between the refurbishment work and the collapse, which so far has a confirmed death toll of four.

In addition to the loved ones of the dead and missing, and those who are suddenly homeless, "there's a lot of other people throughout this community and really throughout Florida who want to know, well, how could a building just collapse like that?" Governor Ron DeSantis said.

He called for a "timely" explanation, adding that families "have a right to know."

Mike Salberg, who is waiting for information on five missing family members, including his parents, echoed the sentiments.

"I want answers," the New Yorker told AFP. "The families are sidelined."

Settling

Attention has turned, however, to a study led by Florida International University's Shimon Wdowinski, based on space-based radar data, which found signs of land subsidence at the site between 1993 and 1999.

"I don't know if the collapse was predictable. But we did detect that the building moved in the 1990s," the environment professor said on CNN.

"It's very subtle. It's two millimeters per year but it's still detected by the satellites," he explained, describing what was happening as a "slow process" of settling, rather than sinking.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/florida-building-collapse-159-victims-still-missing-under-debris-394052/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"In this case, it's a very localized signal of that building," he said.&nbsp;

"And it means that it's not necessarily the building moved into the ground. It can be that the building moved within itself -- if there were some kind of structural damage within the building."

'Going to take some time'&nbsp;

FIU cautioned in a post on its website that "land subsidence in and of itself likely would not cause a building's collapse."

The university also noted that the subsidence observed in Surfside was significantly slower than other parts of the planet Wdowinski has studied -- Mexico City, for example, is subsiding at a rate of 15 inches per year, 2,000 times higher.

Another of the university's experts, Atorod Azizinamini, chair of its civil and environmental engineering department, cautioned in an online video that it was too soon to speculate on a cause.

He said structural engineers would collect vast quantities of data on the building's design plans and construction methods, take samples of steel and concrete, look at signs of corrosion, examine the foundation for signs of settlement, and try to detect any unusual event before the collapse.

"Once we have all the information we can simulate exactly different scenarios, and we can pinpoint how the collapse took place," Azizinamini said. "Unfortunately that is not going to be happening in a matter of days, weeks."

"It's going to take some time."

But Matthys Levy, a consulting engineer and professor at Columbia University interviewed by USA Today, said even the minor subsidence detected could have an impact.

"A millimeter may seem like a small number, but when you add them up over many years, it becomes a big number," Levy said -- who pointed to the fact that one part of the building is still standing as potentially significant.

If one part of a building is well-founded and the other is not, he explained, it can cause distortion in the floor slabs and "suddenly, you get cracking, breaking and fracturing."&nbsp;

That can lead to what is called progressive collapse -- as happened during the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York.

"If one part of the building fails, it drags the rest with it," Levy said. "There's nothing there to stop it, there's no strong elements to hold it back. It's a cascade."

US media have separately reported that a 2015 lawsuit&nbsp;from an owner alleged that the&nbsp;building's management failed to maintain an outside wall, resulting in water damage and cracks.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors in the rubble of the collapsed Florida apartment tower, but the pressure is building; from families of missing residents to the state's governor; for answers on how such a disaster could have occurred.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors in the rubble of the collapsed Florida apartment tower, but the pressure is building; from families of missing residents to the state's governor; for answers on how such a disaster could have occurred. A wing of the oceanfront complex suddenly pancaked on itself around 1:30 am (05:30 GMT) Thursday, with 55 apartments collapsing in a cloud of dust, leaving 159 people still missing on Friday. Also read | Florida building partially collapses; emergency search underway | See pics Completed in 1981, Champlain Towers South was due to be recertified this year in line with Miami-Dade county safety regulations, which require a review every 40 years, and roof work was ongoing as part of that process. But county officials stressed there was no indication of a causal link between the refurbishment work and the collapse, which so far has a confirmed death toll of four. In addition to the loved ones of the dead and missing, and those who are suddenly homeless, "there's a lot of other people throughout this community and really throughout Florida who want to know, well, how could a building just collapse like that?" Governor Ron DeSantis said. He called for a "timely" explanation, adding that families "have a right to know." Mike Salberg, who is waiting for information on five missing family members, including his parents, echoed the sentiments. "I want answers," the New Yorker told AFP. "The families are sidelined." Settling Attention has turned, however, to a study led by Florida International University's Shimon Wdowinski, based on space-based radar data, which found signs of land subsidence at the site between 1993 and 1999. "I don't know if the collapse was predictable. But we did detect that the building moved in the 1990s," the environment professor said on CNN. "It's very subtle. It's two millimeters per year but it's still detected by the satellites," he explained, describing what was happening as a "slow process" of settling, rather than sinking. "In this case, it's a very localized signal of that building," he said. "And it means that it's not necessarily the building moved into the ground. It can be that the building moved within itself -- if there were some kind of structural damage within the building." 'Going to take some time' FIU cautioned in a post on its website that "land subsidence in and of itself likely would not cause a building's collapse." The university also noted that the subsidence observed in Surfside was significantly slower than other parts of the planet Wdowinski has studied -- Mexico City, for example, is subsiding at a rate of 15 inches per year, 2,000 times higher. Another of the university's experts, Atorod Azizinamini, chair of its civil and environmental engineering department, cautioned in an online video that it was too soon to speculate on a cause. He said structural engineers would collect vast quantities of data on the building's design plans and construction methods, take samples of steel and concrete, look at signs of corrosion, examine the foundation for signs of settlement, and try to detect any unusual event before the collapse. "Once we have all the information we can simulate exactly different scenarios, and we can pinpoint how the collapse took place," Azizinamini said. "Unfortunately that is not going to be happening in a matter of days, weeks." "It's going to take some time." But Matthys Levy, a consulting engineer and professor at Columbia University interviewed by USA Today, said even the minor subsidence detected could have an impact. "A millimeter may seem like a small number, but when you add them up over many years, it becomes a big number," Levy said -- who pointed to the fact that one part of the building is still standing as potentially significant. If one part of a building is well-founded and the other is not, he explained, it can cause distortion in the floor slabs and "suddenly, you get cracking, breaking and fracturing." That can lead to what is called progressive collapse -- as happened during the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York. "If one part of the building fails, it drags the rest with it," Levy said. "There's nothing there to stop it, there's no strong elements to hold it back. It's a cascade." US media have separately reported that a 2015 lawsuit from an owner alleged that the building's management failed to maintain an outside wall, resulting in water damage and cracks.

Demands for answers in aftermath of Florida building collapse

A team of Israeli engineers and rescue specialists on Sunday reached the site of a Florida apartment building that partially collapsed three days ago, killing at least five people with 156 still missing.

Many members of the local Jewish community were among those affected by the tragedy in Surfside, near Miami Beach, and Israel had vowed to help with the agonizing search through the smoking mountain of debris.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/death-toll-from-florida-building-collapse-climbs-to-five-394275">Death toll from Florida building collapse climbs to five</a>

The 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South pancaked in the middle of the night Thursday as residents slept. Surveillance video of the collapse showed it coming down in just a few seconds.

The rescue operation has been agonizingly slow and painstaking, and fears of a much higher death toll are climbing with each passing hour, though rescuers have stressed that there may yet be survivors trapped inside the rubble.

"This is one of the best, if not the best, and the most experienced rescue teams, Israeli rescue teams," Israeli diaspora affairs minister Nachman Shai said as the team arrived in Surfside early Sunday.

"They've been all over the world in many similar situations."

The Israeli specialists will join rescuers armed with heavy machinery and sniffer dogs who have been working around the clock since the building came down.

Earlier, Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz had vowed the team would "make every effort to help save human life, and to offer our support to the Jewish community and to our American friends."

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/makeshift-memorial-honors-missing-in-florida-building-tragedy-394278">Makeshift memorial honors missing in Florida building tragedy</a>

In Surfside, there are about 2,500 Jews. about half the town's population and many of them are members of the Hasidic Chabad-Lubavitch movement, according to the Israeli media, though locals say the numbers have grown since the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">coronavirus pandemic.</a>&nbsp;

A team from Mexico had also arrived, Surfside mayor Charles Burkett told ABC on Sunday, without giving more details.

"We don't have a resource problem," he said. "We have a luck problem. We need to get more lucky right now."

At least 18 Latin American nationals are among the missing, including Uruguayans, Argentines and Paraguayans. Canada has also said at least four of its citizens may be "affected," without elaborating.

Late Saturday, officials said they had been able to battle back a fire that for days had hampered their efforts, spreading acrid smoke throughout the site.

Families of the missing have expressed frustration and anger at the wait as concerns have grown about the building's condition before the collapse.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/florida-building-partially-collapses-emergency-search-underway-see-pics-393699">Florida building partially collapses; emergency search underway | See pics</a>

A study in the 1990s had shown land subsidence in the area, while an engineer's survey of the building in 2018 had pointed to "major structural damage" to a concrete slab beneath a ground-level pool deck, as well as "abundant" damage inside the parking garage.

Authorities have stressed that the reason for the collapse is not yet known, and could take months to determine.

US media have reported that one resident filed a class-action lawsuit against the building's owners seeking compensation for victims less than 24 hours after the tragedy.

A team of Israeli engineers and rescue specialists on Sunday reached the site of a Florida apartment building that partially collapsed three days ago, killing at least five people with 156 still missing.

A team of Israeli engineers and rescue specialists on Sunday reached the site of a Florida apartment building that partially collapsed three days ago, killing at least five people with 156 still missing. Many members of the local Jewish community were among those affected by the tragedy in Surfside, near Miami Beach, and Israel had vowed to help with the agonizing search through the smoking mountain of debris. Also read | Death toll from Florida building collapse climbs to five The 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South pancaked in the middle of the night Thursday as residents slept. Surveillance video of the collapse showed it coming down in just a few seconds. The rescue operation has been agonizingly slow and painstaking, and fears of a much higher death toll are climbing with each passing hour, though rescuers have stressed that there may yet be survivors trapped inside the rubble. "This is one of the best, if not the best, and the most experienced rescue teams, Israeli rescue teams," Israeli diaspora affairs minister Nachman Shai said as the team arrived in Surfside early Sunday. "They've been all over the world in many similar situations." The Israeli specialists will join rescuers armed with heavy machinery and sniffer dogs who have been working around the clock since the building came down. Earlier, Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz had vowed the team would "make every effort to help save human life, and to offer our support to the Jewish community and to our American friends." Also read | Makeshift memorial honors missing in Florida building tragedy In Surfside, there are about 2,500 Jews. about half the town's population and many of them are members of the Hasidic Chabad-Lubavitch movement, according to the Israeli media, though locals say the numbers have grown since the coronavirus pandemic. A team from Mexico had also arrived, Surfside mayor Charles Burkett told ABC on Sunday, without giving more details. "We don't have a resource problem," he said. "We have a luck problem. We need to get more lucky right now." At least 18 Latin American nationals are among the missing, including Uruguayans, Argentines and Paraguayans. Canada has also said at least four of its citizens may be "affected," without elaborating. Late Saturday, officials said they had been able to battle back a fire that for days had hampered their efforts, spreading acrid smoke throughout the site. Families of the missing have expressed frustration and anger at the wait as concerns have grown about the building's condition before the collapse. Also read | Florida building partially collapses; emergency search underway | See pics A study in the 1990s had shown land subsidence in the area, while an engineer's survey of the building in 2018 had pointed to "major structural damage" to a concrete slab beneath a ground-level pool deck, as well as "abundant" damage inside the parking garage. Authorities have stressed that the reason for the collapse is not yet known, and could take months to determine. US media have reported that one resident filed a class-action lawsuit against the building's owners seeking compensation for victims less than 24 hours after the tragedy.

Israeli rescuers reach Florida building collapse, 156 still missing

The scores of people missing in the collapse of the beachfront condo building in&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;are no longer just a dry number but have names and faces thanks to a makeshift memorial erected nearby.

On a chain-link fence at a site serving as a staging ground for rescue teams and equipment, photos of some of the missing illustrate the desperation of their loved ones, waiting for news after the sudden and still unexplained tragedy in the wee hours of Thursday.

Behind the fence, a block away, smoke drifts up from the rubble of the Champlain Tower South building, half of which fell like a house of cards, while cranes and other heavy machinery groan with the work of moving concrete and steel rubble.&nbsp;

As of Saturday night, five people are confirmed dead and 156 who may have been in the building when it came tumbling down in the middle of the night in this beach town near Miami are unaccounted for.

One photo on the fence shows a father and his adolescent son -- Alfredo, in glasses and bearded, and young Lorenzo -- with the word "MISSING" and this note: "A family friend tells me they were in unit 512."

Other photos show an older couple seated at a restaurant, a young man in suit and bow tie, and a couple standing on a beach -- identified as Ilan Naibryf and Deborah Berezdivin.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-airs-old-election-grievances-at-campaign-style-rally-394254">Also Read |&nbsp;Trump airs old election grievances at campaign-style rally</a>

Passages from the Bible are written on Post-its attached to some of the pictures.

Besides the photos, well-wishers have stuck flowers in the fence and set candles on the ground.&nbsp;

"You can see the smoke off in the distance, and here the faces of the missing. Now they are unforgettable," said Olivia Ostrow, a French woman who has lived in Surfside for 20 years.

"These parents, these children. They are people just like us," Ostrow told AFP, her eyes filling with tears.

Gina Berlin, who has lived in the neighbourhood for nearly 30 years, said she came to the memorial to pray for the missing.

"I am still in shock," said the 54-year-old, who has two friends who live in the part of the building that remained standing and were able to get out safely.&nbsp;

Peace and meditation

The memorial went up in a noisy and bustling spot as electrical generators from the rescue effort hum and trucks come and go. At one point police even barred people from stopping at the memorial fence.

A few blocks away, a quiet park has also become a memorial for the missing.&nbsp;

On the corner of a street with small houses, people have posted more photos and flowers on the fence of a dog park, again with names of missing people, their apartment numbers and messages of support.&nbsp;

Dana Culvin, 53, said she had the idea to do this on Friday. "I just want to send thoughts and prayers and love to the whole community and specifically those waiting for answers," she said.

Daniela Calzadilla, 48, sits on a bench as her dog Paco plays nearby.

"It's a place where you can find peace," she said. "I know a lot of families from the area that are missing, meditation is always good to feel calm in your mind and body."

As he walks past the park, Raphael Amar, a 63-year-old Jew who was born in Morocco and has lived in Surfside for 20 years, pauses at the memorial.&nbsp;

He is returning from the synagogue, where he says the atmosphere is quiet and sad because of all the people still unaccounted for. Many of them are from the local Jewish community.

The memorial at the park, he said, "shows that we are one community in a small town. We are all neighbours. That creates an extraordinary sense of unity."

The scores of people missing in the collapse of the beachfront condo building in Florida are no longer just a dry number but have names and faces thanks to a makeshift memorial erected nearby.

The scores of people missing in the collapse of the beachfront condo building in Florida are no longer just a dry number but have names and faces thanks to a makeshift memorial erected nearby. On a chain-link fence at a site serving as a staging ground for rescue teams and equipment, photos of some of the missing illustrate the desperation of their loved ones, waiting for news after the sudden and still unexplained tragedy in the wee hours of Thursday. Behind the fence, a block away, smoke drifts up from the rubble of the Champlain Tower South building, half of which fell like a house of cards, while cranes and other heavy machinery groan with the work of moving concrete and steel rubble. As of Saturday night, five people are confirmed dead and 156 who may have been in the building when it came tumbling down in the middle of the night in this beach town near Miami are unaccounted for. One photo on the fence shows a father and his adolescent son -- Alfredo, in glasses and bearded, and young Lorenzo -- with the word "MISSING" and this note: "A family friend tells me they were in unit 512." Other photos show an older couple seated at a restaurant, a young man in suit and bow tie, and a couple standing on a beach -- identified as Ilan Naibryf and Deborah Berezdivin. Also Read | Trump airs old election grievances at campaign-style rally Passages from the Bible are written on Post-its attached to some of the pictures. Besides the photos, well-wishers have stuck flowers in the fence and set candles on the ground. "You can see the smoke off in the distance, and here the faces of the missing. Now they are unforgettable," said Olivia Ostrow, a French woman who has lived in Surfside for 20 years. "These parents, these children. They are people just like us," Ostrow told AFP, her eyes filling with tears. Gina Berlin, who has lived in the neighbourhood for nearly 30 years, said she came to the memorial to pray for the missing. "I am still in shock," said the 54-year-old, who has two friends who live in the part of the building that remained standing and were able to get out safely. Peace and meditation The memorial went up in a noisy and bustling spot as electrical generators from the rescue effort hum and trucks come and go. At one point police even barred people from stopping at the memorial fence. A few blocks away, a quiet park has also become a memorial for the missing. On the corner of a street with small houses, people have posted more photos and flowers on the fence of a dog park, again with names of missing people, their apartment numbers and messages of support. Dana Culvin, 53, said she had the idea to do this on Friday. "I just want to send thoughts and prayers and love to the whole community and specifically those waiting for answers," she said. Daniela Calzadilla, 48, sits on a bench as her dog Paco plays nearby. "It's a place where you can find peace," she said. "I know a lot of families from the area that are missing, meditation is always good to feel calm in your mind and body." As he walks past the park, Raphael Amar, a 63-year-old Jew who was born in Morocco and has lived in Surfside for 20 years, pauses at the memorial. He is returning from the synagogue, where he says the atmosphere is quiet and sad because of all the people still unaccounted for. Many of them are from the local Jewish community. The memorial at the park, he said, "shows that we are one community in a small town. We are all neighbours. That creates an extraordinary sense of unity."

Makeshift memorial honors missing in Florida building tragedy

The death toll from the partial collapse of a&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;high-rise apartment building rose to five on Saturday as officials continued to hold out hope for survivors, following the release of an engineering report from three years ago that warned of "major structural damage."

The increase in the death toll by one underscored the slow and painstaking search process more than two days after part of the 12-story oceanfront building in Surfside, near Miami Beach, pancaked into a mountain of debris as residents slept inside.

"Today our search and rescue teams found another body in the rubble and as well our search has revealed some human remains,"&nbsp;Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters Saturday evening.

With the identification of three previously recovered bodies and notification of next of kin, "it means that the unaccounted is now gone down to 156, confirmed deaths are now at a total of five," she said.

Rescuers were able to battle back a fire that hampered their efforts earlier in the day, and workers had dug a trench through the debris to control the "very deep" blaze.

"We don't have a resource problem here, we have a luck problem," said Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett.

"The issue is we've been fighting the elements, we've been fighting the fire, but we have one objective. And that is to bring those people out of the rubble safely and return them to their families."&nbsp;

The passage of time with no further survivors being found raised fears of a much higher death toll as rescuers sift through the debris with heavy machinery and sniffer dogs, and as increasingly frustrated families continued their agonizing wait.

"We have a friend who got out of the building with her husband," Gina Berlin, 54, who lives in the neighborhood, told AFP. "She is still traumatized... And I am still in shock."

At a makeshift memorial on a nearby street, well-wishers piled flowers and lit candles, while family members posted dozens of pictures of missing persons on a chain-link fence.

Two big cranes on Saturday continued shifting debris as the acrid smell of burnt rubber and melting plastic hung in the baking&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;heat.

'Abundant' cracking

Authorities and experts have stressed that the causes for Champlain Tower South's collapse are still unknown.&nbsp;

But the report of an engineering consultancy that studied the building in 2018, released late Friday by officials, underlined early concerns.

It said its inspectors found "major structural damage" to the concrete slab below a ground-level pool deck and "abundant" cracking and crumbling in the parking garage.

"Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially," warned the report, from the Morabito Consultants firm.

Most of the damage was "probably caused by years of exposure to the corrosive salt air along the South&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;coast," it said.

The report did not indicate that the 40-year-old building risked collapse, but said it needed repairs to maintain "structural integrity."

A lawyer for the building's owners told The New York Times that work was "just about to get started" on the multi-million dollar repairs.

Florida&nbsp;Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday that local officials were "considering potentially evacuating" a nearby building that was built by the same developers, around the same time, as the collapsed structure. But he said there were no indications of immediate danger there.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-airs-old-election-grievances-at-campaign-style-rally-394254">Also Read |&nbsp;Trump airs old election grievances at campaign-style rally</a>

A study led by&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;International University found signs of land subsidence -- a phenomenon affecting much of the Atlantic coast -- at the site in the mid-1990s.

Mayor Cava said the county would immediately undertake a one-month safety audit of all buildings 40 years or older.&nbsp;

'72 hours'

Meanwhile, authorities held out hope that survivors were underneath the rubble.

"All of our training tells us that for at least the first 72 hours, there are high likelihood of people that could be alive in there," Danny Cardeso, with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, told CBS News.

Israel announced it was sending a team of engineers and rescue specialists to help.&nbsp;

"We will make every effort to help save human life, and to offer our support to the Jewish community and to our American friends," said Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

Faced with the painstakingly slow search, some families voiced frustration.&nbsp;

"Not enough is being done," said Mike Salberg, who came from New York after the accident. Five family members, including his parents, remain unaccounted for.

"I want answers," he told AFP.&nbsp;

Others were preparing for the worst.

"We want to be hopeful but also we have to be realistic," said a man who gave his name only as Mark, waiting for news of his friend's mother.

"The next step is being there for the families and know why this happened."

The death toll from the partial collapse of a Florida high-rise apartment building rose to five on Saturday as officials continued to hold out hope for survivors, following the release of an engineering report from three years ago that warned of "major structural damage.

The death toll from the partial collapse of a Florida high-rise apartment building rose to five on Saturday as officials continued to hold out hope for survivors, following the release of an engineering report from three years ago that warned of "major structural damage." The increase in the death toll by one underscored the slow and painstaking search process more than two days after part of the 12-story oceanfront building in Surfside, near Miami Beach, pancaked into a mountain of debris as residents slept inside. "Today our search and rescue teams found another body in the rubble and as well our search has revealed some human remains," Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters Saturday evening. With the identification of three previously recovered bodies and notification of next of kin, "it means that the unaccounted is now gone down to 156, confirmed deaths are now at a total of five," she said. Rescuers were able to battle back a fire that hampered their efforts earlier in the day, and workers had dug a trench through the debris to control the "very deep" blaze. "We don't have a resource problem here, we have a luck problem," said Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett. "The issue is we've been fighting the elements, we've been fighting the fire, but we have one objective. And that is to bring those people out of the rubble safely and return them to their families." The passage of time with no further survivors being found raised fears of a much higher death toll as rescuers sift through the debris with heavy machinery and sniffer dogs, and as increasingly frustrated families continued their agonizing wait. "We have a friend who got out of the building with her husband," Gina Berlin, 54, who lives in the neighborhood, told AFP. "She is still traumatized... And I am still in shock." At a makeshift memorial on a nearby street, well-wishers piled flowers and lit candles, while family members posted dozens of pictures of missing persons on a chain-link fence. Two big cranes on Saturday continued shifting debris as the acrid smell of burnt rubber and melting plastic hung in the baking Florida heat. 'Abundant' cracking Authorities and experts have stressed that the causes for Champlain Tower South's collapse are still unknown. But the report of an engineering consultancy that studied the building in 2018, released late Friday by officials, underlined early concerns. It said its inspectors found "major structural damage" to the concrete slab below a ground-level pool deck and "abundant" cracking and crumbling in the parking garage. "Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially," warned the report, from the Morabito Consultants firm. Most of the damage was "probably caused by years of exposure to the corrosive salt air along the South Florida coast," it said. The report did not indicate that the 40-year-old building risked collapse, but said it needed repairs to maintain "structural integrity." A lawyer for the building's owners told The New York Times that work was "just about to get started" on the multi-million dollar repairs. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday that local officials were "considering potentially evacuating" a nearby building that was built by the same developers, around the same time, as the collapsed structure. But he said there were no indications of immediate danger there. Also Read | Trump airs old election grievances at campaign-style rally A study led by Florida International University found signs of land subsidence -- a phenomenon affecting much of the Atlantic coast -- at the site in the mid-1990s. Mayor Cava said the county would immediately undertake a one-month safety audit of all buildings 40 years or older. '72 hours' Meanwhile, authorities held out hope that survivors were underneath the rubble. "All of our training tells us that for at least the first 72 hours, there are high likelihood of people that could be alive in there," Danny Cardeso, with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, told CBS News. Israel announced it was sending a team of engineers and rescue specialists to help. "We will make every effort to help save human life, and to offer our support to the Jewish community and to our American friends," said Defense Minister Benny Gantz. Faced with the painstakingly slow search, some families voiced frustration. "Not enough is being done," said Mike Salberg, who came from New York after the accident. Five family members, including his parents, remain unaccounted for. "I want answers," he told AFP. Others were preparing for the worst. "We want to be hopeful but also we have to be realistic," said a man who gave his name only as Mark, waiting for news of his friend's mother. "The next step is being there for the families and know why this happened."

Death toll from Florida building collapse climbs to five

A frantic rescue operation is underway to save dozens of residents trapped under the debris of a collapsed Miami condo. What caused the building to crumble? How is the search operation unfolding? Palki Sharma has a report.

Gravitas | Florida building collapse: Frantic race to save lives

Staring into space or sobbing, family members of those missing in the Florida apartment building collapse waited in anguish for news of loved ones, while others scrambled for a place to live after their home was destroyed.

The disaster in Surfside, near&nbsp;Miami&nbsp;Beach, left one person dead and 99 unaccounted for after the collapse early Thursday, with fears the toll may rise much higher.

"Everything is gone," said Erick de Moura, 40, who was at the town's community center trying to find temporary accommodation.

The Brazilian had lived for three years on the 10th floor of the oceanfront Champlain Towers South, part of which pancaked in the middle of the night for reasons yet unknown.

He survived because he had decided to stay at his girlfriend's house last night.

"I am homeless now. I lost my papers, documents, everything. My green card, my money," de Moura said.

"I just came back and the scene is shocking," he added. "There is a lot of pain. I'm blessed that I am alive."

As for his neighbors, "I think they're gone."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/deaths-outnumber-births-in-britain-for-the-first-time-since-1976-393790">Also Read |&nbsp;Deaths outnumber births in Britain for the first time since 1976</a>

These residents had had the best view, overlooking the beach and ocean, until their part of the tower collapsed like a house of cards in the night.

<img alt="Search and Rescue personnel work at a partial collapse building in Surfside, Miami Beach, on June 24, 2021." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="8a1538f6-802d-4afa-b94a-1fad89a7d2dc" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_9D44JW.jpg" />

Search and Rescue personnel work at a partial collapse building in Surfside, Miami Beach, on June 24, 2021. Image Credits: AFP

<img alt=" A high-rise oceanfront apartment block near Miami Beach partially collapsed early Thursday." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bc737294-a7c1-426c-ad69-2bc1fac91719" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_9D44K2.jpg" />

&nbsp;A high-rise oceanfront apartment block near Miami Beach partially collapsed early Thursday. Image Credits: AFP

Firefighters, police and search dogs spent the day trying to locate survivors in the rubble. A crane cleared away pieces of debris, while a helicopter patrolled from above.

The rest of the 12-story building was still standing, but all residents were evacuated and several surrounding streets cordoned off.&nbsp;

The survivors and families of those missing gathered a few blocks away at the community center, where volunteers were providing water, coffee, lunches, and clothes, as well as emotional support.

Displaced residents were trying to figure out where they can now live, whether it's with relatives or in hotels which have offered rooms. Others waited grimly for news of their loved ones.

People come and go. Some are seated and motionless, while others are sobbing.

More than a thousand people have passed through the community center, said Ron Ben Hayoun, a 22-year-old volunteer and north&nbsp;Miami&nbsp;resident who had returned to his childhood neighborhood to help.

In this city with a large Jewish community, "we try to help everyone, we are not exclusive."

"It's pretty shocking. people are very emotional," said the young man, who had recently returned from Israel where he did his military service.

Staring into space or sobbing, family members of those missing in the Florida apartment building collapse waited in anguish for news of loved ones, while others scrambled for a place to live after their home was destroyed.

Staring into space or sobbing, family members of those missing in the Florida apartment building collapse waited in anguish for news of loved ones, while others scrambled for a place to live after their home was destroyed. The disaster in Surfside, near Miami Beach, left one person dead and 99 unaccounted for after the collapse early Thursday, with fears the toll may rise much higher. "Everything is gone," said Erick de Moura, 40, who was at the town's community center trying to find temporary accommodation. The Brazilian had lived for three years on the 10th floor of the oceanfront Champlain Towers South, part of which pancaked in the middle of the night for reasons yet unknown. He survived because he had decided to stay at his girlfriend's house last night. "I am homeless now. I lost my papers, documents, everything. My green card, my money," de Moura said. "I just came back and the scene is shocking," he added. "There is a lot of pain. I'm blessed that I am alive." As for his neighbors, "I think they're gone." Also Read | Deaths outnumber births in Britain for the first time since 1976 These residents had had the best view, overlooking the beach and ocean, until their part of the tower collapsed like a house of cards in the night. Search and Rescue personnel work at a partial collapse building in Surfside, Miami Beach, on June 24, 2021. Image Credits: AFP A high-rise oceanfront apartment block near Miami Beach partially collapsed early Thursday. Image Credits: AFP Firefighters, police and search dogs spent the day trying to locate survivors in the rubble. A crane cleared away pieces of debris, while a helicopter patrolled from above. The rest of the 12-story building was still standing, but all residents were evacuated and several surrounding streets cordoned off. The survivors and families of those missing gathered a few blocks away at the community center, where volunteers were providing water, coffee, lunches, and clothes, as well as emotional support. Displaced residents were trying to figure out where they can now live, whether it's with relatives or in hotels which have offered rooms. Others waited grimly for news of their loved ones. People come and go. Some are seated and motionless, while others are sobbing. More than a thousand people have passed through the community center, said Ron Ben Hayoun, a 22-year-old volunteer and north Miami resident who had returned to his childhood neighborhood to help. In this city with a large Jewish community, "we try to help everyone, we are not exclusive." "It's pretty shocking. people are very emotional," said the young man, who had recently returned from Israel where he did his military service.

Families wait for news of survivors after Florida building collapse

The driver of a pickup truck slammed into a crowd gathering for a Pride parade Saturday in&nbsp;south&nbsp;Florida, killing one man and injuring another, authorities said.

While the truck appeared to be taking part in the procession, it was not immediately clear if the crash was a deliberate assault or an accident. Police detective Ali Adamson said officials were evaluating all possibilities.&nbsp;

The incident happened at the start of the Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade and festival, an LGBTQ celebration in a town near Fort Lauderdale.&nbsp;

The white pickup truck was lined up with other floats for the parade when it accelerated and ran into pedestrians before crashing into a plant nursery, Local 10 News said.&nbsp;

The driver was later taken into custody.

Two adult men were transported to a medical centre where one later died, Adamson told reporters in a televised press briefing. The other remains hospitalized but are expected to survive, she added. &nbsp;

The driver and the victims are members of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus, according to a statement from the group's president Justin Knight, who called the incident an "unfortunate accident".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/brazilians-protest-bolsonaros-role-in-half-a-million-covid-19-deaths-392661">Also Read |&nbsp;Brazilians protest Bolsonaro's role in half a million COVID-19 deaths</a>

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the unfortunate accident that occurred when the Stonewall Pride Parade was just getting started," he said in the statement.&nbsp;

"Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver is also a part of the Chorus family.&nbsp;To my knowledge,&nbsp;this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community. We anticipate more details to follow and ask for the community's love and support."

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who was at the parade, told a local broadcaster he thought the crash was "deliberate".&nbsp;

In the immediate aftermath, he called it "a terrorist attack against the LGBT community" and claimed the truck had targeted the car of a Democratic congresswoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz -- who was in a convertible waiting to take part in the procession -- but narrowly missed her.

Wasserman Schultz said on Twitter that she was "heartbroken" by what had taken place.

"I am deeply shaken and devastated that a life was lost," she said.

"My staff, volunteers and I are thankfully safe," she added.

The Wilton Manors Police Department tweeted Saturday night after the crash that the public was not in danger.&nbsp;

While the parade was cancelled "due to a tragic event", the other festival events continued, it said.&nbsp;

Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said on Facebook that he had also been at the scene.

"This tragedy took place within feet of me and my (Broward Sheriff's Office) team, and we are devastated having witnessed this horrific incident," he said.&nbsp;

"Our prayers are with the victims and their families. Be sure to hug the ones you love tonight."

June is Pride Month, which commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots sparked by repeated police raids on a popular gay bar in New York. The demonstrations proved to be a turning point in the LGBTQ community's struggle for civil rights.

The driver of a pickup truck slammed into a crowd gathering for a Pride parade Saturday in south Florida, killing one man and injuring another, authorities said.

The driver of a pickup truck slammed into a crowd gathering for a Pride parade Saturday in south Florida, killing one man and injuring another, authorities said. While the truck appeared to be taking part in the procession, it was not immediately clear if the crash was a deliberate assault or an accident. Police detective Ali Adamson said officials were evaluating all possibilities. The incident happened at the start of the Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade and festival, an LGBTQ celebration in a town near Fort Lauderdale. The white pickup truck was lined up with other floats for the parade when it accelerated and ran into pedestrians before crashing into a plant nursery, Local 10 News said. The driver was later taken into custody. Two adult men were transported to a medical centre where one later died, Adamson told reporters in a televised press briefing. The other remains hospitalized but are expected to survive, she added. The driver and the victims are members of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus, according to a statement from the group's president Justin Knight, who called the incident an "unfortunate accident". Also Read | Brazilians protest Bolsonaro's role in half a million COVID-19 deaths "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the unfortunate accident that occurred when the Stonewall Pride Parade was just getting started," he said in the statement. "Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver is also a part of the Chorus family. To my knowledge, this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community. We anticipate more details to follow and ask for the community's love and support." Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who was at the parade, told a local broadcaster he thought the crash was "deliberate". In the immediate aftermath, he called it "a terrorist attack against the LGBT community" and claimed the truck had targeted the car of a Democratic congresswoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz -- who was in a convertible waiting to take part in the procession -- but narrowly missed her. Wasserman Schultz said on Twitter that she was "heartbroken" by what had taken place. "I am deeply shaken and devastated that a life was lost," she said. "My staff, volunteers and I are thankfully safe," she added. The Wilton Manors Police Department tweeted Saturday night after the crash that the public was not in danger. While the parade was cancelled "due to a tragic event", the other festival events continued, it said. Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said on Facebook that he had also been at the scene. "This tragedy took place within feet of me and my (Broward Sheriff's Office) team, and we are devastated having witnessed this horrific incident," he said. "Our prayers are with the victims and their families. Be sure to hug the ones you love tonight." June is Pride Month, which commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots sparked by repeated police raids on a popular gay bar in New York. The demonstrations proved to be a turning point in the LGBTQ community's struggle for civil rights.

One killed as truck hits crowd at Florida Pride parade

Two people including a child were shot dead in a grocery store in Florida on Thursday, the latest in a series of shootings in the southern US state. The shooting -- in which the gunman also killed himself -- occurred in a Publix grocery store in Royal Palm Beach, 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Miami, police said.

Two people including a child were shot dead in a grocery store in Florida on Thursday, the latest in a series of shootings in the southern US state. The shooting -- in which the gunman also killed himself -- occurred in a Publix grocery store in Royal Palm Beach, 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Miami, police said. "Upon arrival deputies located three individuals deceased from gunshot wounds, one adult male, one adult female, and one child," the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said. "The shooter is one of the deceased." Also Read | Trump hints at comeback in major speech, calls on nations to cancel their China debt The shooter turned his gun on himself, Teri Barbera, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, told AFP. This was the latest shooting in south Florida in recent days. On Sunday, three people were killed and five wounded at a graduation party in Miami. Two people were killed and at least 20 wounded a week earlier when three shooters fired "indiscriminately" into a crowd outside a concert in the Miami area, police said. Mass shootings have taken place across the United States this year in a surge of violence that President Joe Biden has branded an "epidemic."

Shooting in grocery store in Florida, two killed, including one child

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