<br><div><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el" aria-label="Video - Florida building collapse: Possible reasons explained by experts"/><ul aria-label="Story Highlights" class="gnt_ar_sh"><li class="gnt_ar_sh_li">The town of Surfside received a required 40-year inspection report for the Champlain Towers South 16 hours after the beachside building’s catastrophic failure.</li><li class="gnt_ar_sh_li">An October 2018 inspection report found "abundant" cracking and spalling of the columns, beams and walls in the garage under the tower that collapsed early Thursday.</li></ul><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Engineers noted design flaws and failing waterproofing that would lead to "exponential damage" about 990 days before much of the Champlain Towers South condominium complex collapsed,<a target="_blank" href="https://townofsurfsidefl.gov/departments-services/town-clerk/champlain-towers-public-records-documents" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|inline click|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a"> documents released late Friday night show</a>. The town of Surfside, Fla., released the documents including an "unverified" 40-year inspection report that had been received 16 hours after the building's catastrophic failure.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">A letter to the condomimum association's treasurer on Oct. 8, 2018, included pages of recommended repairs. One warned of failed waterproofing causing "major structural damage" on a concrete slab over a garage and said "Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete damage to expand exponentially."</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The author warned that the design was faulty, replacement would be complicated, and called it a "systemic issue." Areas underneath planters and pools were specifically mentioned in the report. The pool remained largely intact after the collapse.</p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">None of the documents, which date to 2018, appeared to contain details that would explain the beachside building's collapse but do reveal multiple potentially serious issues.</p><p...</p></div> <style> .wrapper { text-align: center; } </style> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="button" href ="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/06/26/miami-condo-collapse-inspection-reports-concrete-deterioration-surfside/5355975001/">Read more <span>➤</span></a> </div>
