Surfside, Florida Condo Building Collapse
 

New thread for all discussion regarding the tragic condominium tower collapse in Surfside, Florida on June 24, 2021.

If thread should be located in Engineering forum, mods please move.

I really wonder what happened there... the whole half of the building collapsed from top to bottom, no earthquake, no fire, no bomb, no tornado, and it was a relatively upscale building, and only 40 years old. It doesn't look good for anyone that was in the half of the building that collapsed.

This is terrible and upsetting. It brings back all the memories of 9/11. The visuals are all there. And you just know that we have to brace for the fatalities.

Surfside soil subsidence?
 

(EDIT: there is a more complete discussion in the Skybar - Current events)

While it is obviously too early to come to any definitive conclusions, it is possible soil subsidence under part of the building may have put too much stress on the structure.

A story from CBS4 Miami:
Condo Collapse: FIU Professor Found Surfside Building Had Been Sinking For Decades


The building may have started the process of collapse at least a day earlier:

Story from Huffpost:
Missing Woman Made Ominous Phone Call Before Miami Collapse


I seem to recall reading something to the effect that nearby construction may have also caused some cracks at Surfside's ground level.

I was thinking Oklahoma.