But her mother, Angela Gonzalez, and her sister, Deven Gonzalez, did survive. Jeff Pias, 60, was staying with his . The rumble was followed by a loud crash and debris as part of a condo complex collapsed in Surfside . Balboa said he told the uncle, Sorry I couldnt get to his sister faster.. I won't leave. The earthquake happened 100 miles off the coast of Florida and experts are weighing in whether it could have had anything to do with the Surfside condo collapse almost a week later. Thats what saved me. Did Mavericks kneel during national anthem. Rodriguez helped neighbors escape to a second-floor balcony where firefighters helped them to the ground. The public may view the reports by going to WSVN.com and clicking on "FCC Public File", or by visiting the FCC's website at FCC.org. We've received your submission. He said the Surfside investment is its first U.S. project. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Susana Alvarez fled her home on the 10th floor of Champlain Towers South, escaping with her life and almost nothing else. That was my home. ALVAREZ: I am near the building. People stand at the Surfside Community Center where authorities are taking residents and relatives from a partially collapsed building in Surfside near Miami Beach, Fla., June 24, 2021. Son shares how family survived Surfside condo building collapse 03:11 About six months ago, the Nir family moved to Surfside, Florida. 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Visit Insider's homepage for more stories, Champlain Towers South near Miami partially collapsed, Reports: 3 children dead, 2 wounded in attack at Texas home, Kellyanne Conway, George Conway To Divorce After Decadeslong Marriage: Report, School punished teen girl for working out in sports bra in 100-degree Texas heat, ACLU says, U.S. court won't require FAA to make airplane seat size, spacing rules, 'Extremely dangerous': Spike in illegal crossings at Canada-Vermont border has feds sounding alarm, SoCal in for cool start to weekend, butlight showers make brief return, Friday Nightcap: Winners & losers of the week, Two boats, carrying 48 Cuban migrants, make landing on Dry Tortugas in Florida Keys, Big rigs flipped by strong winds during severe weather. Miami condo owners warned of major structural damage in 2018. "We're lucky to be here.". Surfside condo survivors recall traumatizing building collapse - TODAY.com And please understand that I don't care - everything I lost in that condo, including my parents' wedding rings and my father's 18-karat gold watch from Cuba that was engraved and all that - I don't care. Nine of the 98 Surfside victims may have SURVIVED the initial condo collapse: Fire rescue logs show woman was alive in rubble for TEN HOURS. A mother and daughter who survived the Florida condo collapse that killed 98 people describe how they survived falling when the floor gave way. The 12-story residential complex in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach, partially collapsed before 1:30 a.m. local time on Thursday. Nicholas Balboa was walking his dog around midnight when he felt the ground shake. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Its about the lives that are there.. When he opened the . ALVAREZ: I was in bed, and I heard a tremor. New Jersey family recounts surviving Surfside building collapse Man Who Survived Being Buried Under Rubble in India Reflects on It wasn't until they opened the door to the hallway that they realized what had actually happened. It was like 'Titanic,'" she said. Survival experts explain what it would take to survive a building All rights reserved. "It was like a really loud clap of thunder. 2023 www.tallahassee.com. Aguero, his wife and two children, were visiting South Florida from New Jersey. Copyright 2021 NPR. But I'll - I know I can get myself back up on my feet. Ryan Logan, the American Red Cross' regional disaster officer for south Florida, said the organization has been helping about 18 families, and some of them have been looking for ways they can help other victims. However, Figueiredo told him to stay because they do not get spend Wednesday nights together often. De Moura lived in unit 1004. "I looked to my left and half of the apartment is gone, look forward and the elevator shaft is there and there's no elevator, it's just two holes," Aguero told NBC South Florida. ABC News' Eliana Larramendia Boyd, Kendall Coughlin, Alexandra Faul, Christopher Godburn, Joshua Hoyos, Aaron Katersky, Rachel Katz, Katie Kindelan,. Elected officials told the paper that first responders lacked adequate resources and the experience in dealing with such a massive and catastrophic incident. And there was water - a lot of water. 1401 79th Street Causeway A Haitian man once survived for two weeks within the wreckage of a building after a . Schechter said as soon as she got out, all she could think about were her neighbors that might have still been inside. 00:49. After a failed attempt duringthe 2022 legislative session, lawmakers in May returned to Tallahasseeandpassed legislation designed to prevent a similar disaster. "Of course, it's not ruled out," she added. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Yes. "My initial reaction is wow, we were so lucky. We talked aboutitand we say it's about 15 feet that we survived by, if we had been 15 feet to the right, it would have gone down, or half of the apartment would have gone down," Aguero said. Sadly, no one . That's when the family started hearing loud noises. At least 12 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Trump speaks at CPAC after winning straw poll, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, Man charged for alleged involvement in 2 transformer explosions, Nikki Haley slams potential GOP contenders, and Trump and George W. Bush, Duo of 81-year-old women plan to see the world in 80 days, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Alex Murdaugh trial: What to know about the double murder case, Son shares how family survived condo collapse, Son shares how family survived Surfside condo building collapse. So Sara went to the front lobby to talk to the security guard. We climbed out of rubble. Dressed in flip-flops and pajamas, Alfredo and Marian Lopez left their home of 22 years afterwhat sounded like a loud crash of thunder woke them from their sixth-floor apartment at the northwest corner of the Champlain Towers South. GARCIA-NAVARRO: So what does that make you think? And they opened it, and I just ran. A woman who survived the collapse of a condo building in Florida said she escaped by climbing through the rubble in the dark with her dog. Furniture sits perched in the remains of apartments sheared in half, in the still standing portion of the Champlain Towers South condo building, more than a week after it partially collapsed. You couldn't see anything. I mean, I know that sounds silly, but that's all I want, my cat back. And it's just overwhelming, really.". He thought the cause of the collapse was a gas explosion and wanted to get a safe distance away. Praying that the building didnt fall on me, collapse on me. Updated on: July 14, 2021 / 9:25 PM Their car was destroyed in the building's garage. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. And I don't know - we just - we climbed out of rubble. The remaining portion of the structure was demolished on July 4, and search efforts shifted into recovery mode. And the fire escape door wouldn't open, but I saw people on the other side, and I banged. With 4 confirmed dead, 159 unaccounted for, officials vow to keep Osin-Cohenthen returned to her apartment, taking along with her an elderly couple she came across that was also trying to find their way out. Nicholas Balboa said he had been walking his dog past midnight on June 24 when he felt the ground shake and saw that a major section of the condo complex had collapsed. And then we - I don't know where I came out to, but there were cars that were all, you know, with rocks and stuff on them, crashed. What did you see? GARCIA-NAVARRO: It was an unimaginable situation. They were screaming, help, help. And there were no elevators, just open holes. Those are people I say hello to. But it wasn't even a minute that went by when it was - my bed started to shake like if I was on a - like I was on a ride. "Panic starts to set in, like we need to really run, because I don't know if the rest of it is coming down. (Sara Nir) RIGHT: A bedroom in the Nir's apartment, Unit 111, before the collapse . Albert Aguero, his wife and two children, who are from New Jersey and on vacation in South . Albert Aguero and his family had asimilarclose call. And the town of Surfside said to us that the building was not in bad shape, that the building was not in bad shape. Florida condo survivors recount how they escaped the crumbling The remains belonged to, The final missing person in the condominium building collapse in Surfside, Florida has been recovered and identified, according to the Miami-Dade County mayor. Some Surfside victims may have been alive for hours after initial Support . 2023 Cable News Network. They were the nicest couple. The Dubai billionaires $120 million land purchase also will be used to pay families of victims and property owners. All rights reserved, How to Help Victims of the Surfside Building Collapse, Deeply Emotional': Families of the Missing Visit Site of Florida Condo Collapse, Viral Kids' Star Ms. Rachel Is Taking a Break From Social Media After Backlash Over Co-Star Who Uses They/Them Pronouns, Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Flight Attendant Hit the Ceiling': 7 Hospitalized After Severe Turbulence Diverts Flight to Virginia, Check Your Change! Coins, Photos, Kitchen Tools: Pieces of Lives Buried in Condo Collapse An attorney for James River Insurance Company wrote to the judge in one case this week that it plans to "voluntarily tender its entire limit" from the associations policy toward resolving claims. It was about the life that I had there. With Eyal traveling for work often, Gabe told CBS News he decided to live with his mom and teen sister to help them out. 'We Were So Lucky': Family Narrowly Survived Surfside Condo Collapse They were both identified by the Miami-Dade Police Department on June 26. Victor Oquendo, Emily Shapiro, Ben Stein, Christine Theodorou and Nery Ynclan contributed to this report. About six months ago, the Nir family moved to Surfside, Florida. This was in a matter of seconds, out of nowhere. The Miami-Dade Police Department is leading an investigation into the incident. Jason Delgado is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network-Florida. An attached copy of the policy showed limits between $1 million and $2 million. Since the collapse, Balboa said he has replayed that moment in his mind many times, wondering what he could have done differently to save more people, he told CNN. But I am homeless right now. I can't imagine. According to The Telegraph, another Haitian man survived underneath a pile of rubble for over three weeks by drinking sewage water . Condo association "kept kicking the can down the road," according to lawyer for unit owner. Rescue workers continued digging feverishly for a sixth day Tuesday, after stressing Monday that they could still find survivors in the rubble of a collapsed Surfside condo building. I don't know because I grabbed nothing else. But subsidence, or the gradual sinking of land, likely would not on its own cause a building to collapse, according to Wdowinski, whose expertise is in space geodesy, natural hazards and sea level rise. "They are going to basically have to start all over again," Capponi said. July 23, 2021 / 11:29 PM / AP. "I know that they are hopeful, so we are hopeful as well.". I had this beautiful condo by the beach. "Three families that I know well," he .