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President Joe Biden declared an emergency in the state of Florida after a residential building partially collapsed and killed at least one person and left 99 unidentified.
Fears are growing that the death toll at the site north of Miami could rise as rescue teams search and clear wreckage overnight. Dozens of rubble have been removed.
Biden ordered federal assistance to complement state and local response efforts. The emergency action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate “all disaster relief efforts,” a White House statement said Friday.
“We are waiting for any help you want the federal government to give, you just have to ask us, we will be there, we will be there,” Biden said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in Miami-Dade County on Thursday afternoon, paving the way for FEMA to arrive at the scene and provide assistance to rescue crews and affected families.
“We still have at least 99 unknowns,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine said at a news conference. He added that 102 people have been counted, which he described as “very encouraging”.
Rescue authorities responded to a call early Thursday morning and arrived in the beachfront town of Surfside to find the northeast section of the 12-story Champlain Towers South.
Officials said rescuers had removed 35 occupants of the building and two of the debris. Ray Jadallah, chief of operations for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, said that as of 6 a.m., rescue teams shifted their attention from inside the building to under the rubble.
Jadallah described the efforts as a slow and dangerous process and said sonar, cameras and rescue dogs were used at the top of the rubble to look for anyone trapped below.
“We received sounds. Not necessarily people speak, but sounds; which sounds like people are shocked, ”Jadallah said in a briefing. “Other than that, we haven’t heard any voices coming out of the pile.”
Officials said it was too early to know what caused the collapse of the condominium tower, which was built in the early 1980s. Alfredo Ramirez, director of the Miami-Dade County police department, said his detectives, as well as state and federal authorities, would begin an investigation into possible causes once the search and rescue operations were completed.
“I was awakened by what looked like thunder,” resident Barry Cohen told the BBC. “It looked like a bomb had exploded: dirt, dust and smoke everywhere. The whole building shook with a huge explosion.
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