‘Heartbreaking.’ Here’s what Miami politicians are saying about the condo collapse
As rescue crews continue to search for survivors among the rubble of a partially collapsed condo tower in Surfside Thursday, people are taking to social media to share messages.
Here’s what some South Florida politicians have said:
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava
“This is the incredible, unimaginable situation that none of us could have ever predicted,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a news conference Thursday afternoon in Surfside. “But we have the right people on the job. Our team at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has dealt with collapse situations before.”
She said fire-rescue will continue the search and rescue operation.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
“It’s a tragic day,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a Thursday afternoon news conference one block away from the Champlain tower.
He was taken to see the collapse and said it looked worse than what media images were capturing.
“The TV doesn’t do it justice,” he said. “It is really, really traumatic to see the collapse of a massive structure like that.”
He also thanked first responders for their work and said the state was ready to assist the county with anything it needed.
Earlier in the day during a news conference at Hillsborough Community College he warned “We are bracing for some bad news given the destruction that we’re seeing.”
Surfside Mayor Charles Buckett
“The problem is the building has literally pancaked. It has gone down. And I mean, there’s just feet in between stories where there were 10 feet,” Surfside Mayor Charles Buckett said in an early morning news conference. “That is, is heartbreaking, because it doesn’t mean to me that we’re going to be successful, as successful as we would want to be to find people alive.”.
He later said: “I was there at two o’clock in the morning, those guys have gone into that building with the potential of collapse and risking their own lives. And they’ve actually found some people in the remaining part of the building, which is astounding. So those guys, those guys deserve all of our respect and credit and anything else we can give them because they’re real heroes, they risked their lives, it’s amazing. We got to be very proud.”
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families in Surfside as we respond to this tragedy in our community. Thank you to @MiamiPD and @CityofMiamiFire for getting to the scene quickly—we sent 10 fire rescue units along with drones and K-9 units to assist with search and rescue,” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said.
Sen. Rick Scott
Republican Sen. Rick Scott wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky and Police Director Alfredo ‘Freddy’ Ramirez.
“Ann and I are praying for everyone impacted by the terrible tragedy in Surfside and all of our brave first responders working search and rescue,” Scott said.
Sen. Marco Rubio
Sen. Marco Rubio spoke privately with loved ones of the condo collapse and some Surfside community leaders at the family reunification center at around 9 p.m. on Thursday and left the scene around 10 minutes later without taking interviews.
“The outpouring of kindness and empathy in this community is unprecedented,” said Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, the spiritual leader at the Shul of Bal Harbour whose congregants are among the victims of the collapse, after speaking with Rubio. “You can’t take away the pain from the people, but if you can balance it with kindness — that’s the only thing we can give them.”
Lipskar said that, in a time like this, he hopes elected officials will “just be available.”
“Help someone’s family come here with a visa, make sure we get the burials in time, whatever needs to be done,” he asked of South Florida politicians. “Be available to get it done.”
Rubio also spoke briefly with the newly appointed Israeli consul general for Miami, Maor Elbaz Starinsky, who said in an interview after the conversation that he used the opportunity to reiterate his offers of Israeli aid to South Florida.
“Horrible images emerging the partial collapse of a condo building in #Surfside #Florida last night,” Republican Senator Marco Rubio tweeted.“@MiamiDadeFire has one of the best urban search and rescue teams in the world & they have been on the scene for hours searching for victims & survivors.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
“My heart and hopes are in Surfside as 100s of rescuers from across my community work furiously to search and save residents,” Democrat Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz tweeted. “We pray the casualties & loss of life are limited and rescuers remain safe as they aid and reunite families impacted by this horrible tragedy.”
Rep. Frederica Wilson
“My thoughts and prayers are with the survivors and families of the victims of the Miami Beach building collapse,” Democrat Rep. Frederica Wilson said on Twitter. Later, she shared a link to information about Miami-Dade County’s family reunifcation hotline.
Rep. María Elvira Salazar
Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar has posted multiple messages in English and Spanish throughout the day, including information about the family reunification hotline and center.
“This is truly devastating. My prayers are with all of the families & our brave. @MiamiBeachPD & @MiamiDadeFire who are fighting around the clock to save lives,” Salazar tweeted.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez
Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez shared information online about the family reunification center at the Surfside Community Center and the reunfication hotline 305-614-1819.
This article will be updated.
This story was originally published June 24, 2021 at 1:02 PM.
