Collapse reconstructed: How years of problems converged the night Champlain Towers fell
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Surfside condo collapse: One year later
One year ago, the tiny town of Surfside became a disaster zone when the Champlain Towers South collapse claimed the lives of 98 people. Survivors, family of victims and residents say they will never forget.
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In Memoriam
▪ Ingrid “Itty” Ainsworth ▪ Tzvi Ainsworth ▪ Michael Altman ▪ Richard Augustine ▪ Luis Fernando Barth ▪ Valeria Barth ▪ Deborah Berezdivin ▪ Luis Bermúdez ▪ Elena Blasser ▪ Claudio Bonnefoy ▪ Maricoy “Maria” Obias-Bonnefoy ▪ Gabriela Camou ▪ ▪ ▪ Andrea Cattarossi ▪ Gino Cattarossi ▪ Graciela Cattarossi ▪ Stella Cattarossi ▪ Elena Chavez ▪ Brad Cohen ▪ Gary Cohen ▪ Magaly Elena Delgado ▪ Bonnie Epstein ▪ David Epstein ▪ Stacie Fang ▪ Andrés Galfrascoli ▪ Andreas Giannitsopoulos ▪ Catalina Gómez ▪ Edgar Gonzalez ▪ Anastasia Gromova ▪ Emma Guara ▪ Lucia Guara ▪ Marcus Guara ▪ Beatriz “Betty” Guerra ▪ Oresme “Gil” Guerra ▪ Estelle Hedaya ▪ Miguel Kaufmann ▪ Frank Kleiman ▪ Jay Kleiman ▪ Manuel LaFont ▪ Nicole “Nicky” Langesfeld ▪ Alfredo Leone ▪ Lorenzo Leone ▪ Nancy Kress Levin ▪ Andres Levine ▪ Sophia López Moreira ▪ Antonio Lozano ▪ Gladys Lozano ▪ Gloria Machado ▪ Nicole Doran-Manashirov ▪ Ruslan Manashirov ▪ Linda March ▪ Ana Mora ▪ Juan Mora Sr. ▪ Juan Mora Jr. ▪ Ilan Naibryf ▪ Hilda Noriega ▪ Arnold ‘Arnie’ Notkin ▪ Myriam Caspi Notkin
▪ Fabián Núñez ▪ Sofía Nuñez Galfrascoli ▪ Christina Beatriz Elvira Oliwkowicz ▪ Leon Oliwkowicz ▪ Ana Ortiz ▪ Aishani Gia Patel ▪ Bhavna Patel ▪ Vishal Patel ▪ Michelle Pazos ▪ Miguel Pazos ▪ Alexia Pettengill ▪ Anna Pettengill ▪ Luis Pettengill ▪ Luis Pettengill III ▪ Francis Plasencia ▪ Graciela Ponce de León ▪ Maria Popa ▪ Mihai Radulescu ▪ Marina Restrepo Azen ▪ Moises Rodan ▪ Anaely Rodriguez ▪ Harry Rosenberg ▪ María Teresa Rovirosa ▪ Richard Rovirosa ▪ Elaine Sabino ▪ Luis Sadovnic ▪ Rosa Saez ▪ Simon Segal ▪ Judy Spiegel ▪ Cassondra “Cassie” Stratton ▪ Gonzalo Torre ▪ Maria Torre ▪ Mercedes Urgelles ▪ Raymond Urgelles ▪ Margarita “Maggie” Vasquez Bello ▪ Angela Velasquez ▪ Julio Velasquez ▪ Theresa Velasquez ▪ Leidy Vanessa Luna Villalba ▪ Benny Weisz ▪ Lisa “Malky” Weisz
Acknowledgments
House of Cards is a project by the Miami Herald
Produced by Sarah Blaskey and Sohail Al-Jamea
Written and reported by Sarah Blaskey
Art directed and animated by Sohail Al-Jamea
Illustrations by Rachel Handley
Page design by David Newcomb
Interactive elements by David Newcomb and Aaron Albright
Additional reporting by Aaron Leibowitz, Ben Conarck, Nicholas Nehamas, and Ana Claudia Chacin
Edited by Casey Frank
Project management and visuals editing by Eduardo M. Alvarez
Forensic analysis by Dawn E. Lehman, professor of engineering at the University of Washington, who worked as a consultant to the Herald
Finite element modeling by University of Washington graduate students Nicolette Lewis and Ray Yu performed under Professor Lehman’s supervision
Other consulting experts included: Dan Abrams, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois’ Grainger College of Engineering; Abieyuwa Aghayere, professor at Drexel University’s College of Engineering; Atorod Azizinamini, director of the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability at Florida International University; David Lange, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois’ Grainger College of Engineering; Khalid Mosalam, director of the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center at the University of California Berkeley; Shankar Nair, a structural engineer with more than 50 years of professional experience and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the former chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat; Eugenio Santiago, structural engineer and retired chief building official for Key Biscayne; and Gregg Schlesinger, general contractor and attorney from Fort Lauderdale.
Audio engineering by Davin Coburn
Copy edited by Mary Behne
Logo design by Gabrielle G. McCall
Photos by Robert Lisman
Additional computer generated imagery of Champlain Towers South rendered by a team at XOLOVFX
Office space and logistical support from the Sacramento Bee
A special thanks to all of the survivors and family members of victims who trusted us with their stories.
Editor’s note
Six months ago, when Champlain Towers South suddenly collapsed, killing 98 people in Surfside, Florida, the Miami Herald sought to tell the full story of the tragedy and its profound impact on the Miami community. As the local news organization of record, we were there the first day, throughout search and rescue, and every month that followed. We memorialized the victims and told the stories of how they came to be in the condo on June 24. Our coverage included the history of the Canadian developers behind the project, detailed problems in the building, exposed the troubled pasts of the engineers, architects and contractors who cut corners, covered the ongoing lawsuits, provided critical context to legislative efforts, and shined a light on the town, where a disorganized building department official once told residents the doomed tower was in good shape. The powerful images delivered daily by Herald photographers and video journalists communicated what words alone could not as we told the story of a community first brought together in a search for hope and later by shared grief.
As part of its forensic investigation into the potential causes of the building failure, the Herald reconstructed the collapse from witness testimony and other records and worked with engineers to review building plans to identify weaknesses in the original design. Investigative reporters worked with Dawn Lehman, professor of engineering at the University of Washington, to dig into what went wrong and test theories about the origins of the collapse using advanced computer modeling.
The Herald’s cutting edge reporting was presented to federal investigators with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and is being used in their ongoing efforts to determine the root cause, or more likely causes, of the failure.
This interactive article is available to all. It is a public service to those who were affected by this tragedy both in our community and beyond. We are here to cover the stories that matter most to you and our communities, producing extraordinary journalism, often under challenging conditions. To support our continued exclusive reporting, animating and production, please consider a subscription to the Miami Herald. Your support will help invest in the future of robust, impactful local reporting.
—Monica Richardson, Executive Editor of the Miami Herald
This story was originally published December 29, 2021, 11:21 PM.
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