Pool deck at Surfside, Florida condo that collapsed had ‘severe strength deficiency,’ investigators say

Federal investigators looking into what caused the Champlain Towers South condominium building to collapse in Surfside, Florida in 2021, killing 98 people, have discovered that its pool deck had a “severe strength deficiency,” a report says. 

The finding is part of a preliminary analysis from investigators from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, according to The New York Times. 

After interviewing witnesses, examining building records, testing its materials and producing models, the investigators wrote in a summary that the condo building’s pool deck didn’t have enough strength at or between many of its supporting columns, the newspaper says. 

The steel reinforcement inside the concrete slabs of the pool deck was found to have been buried deeper in concrete that what initial designs planned for, while planters placed on top of it were heavier that originally designed, adding more weight to the structure, The New York Times reported, citing the summaries. 

SURFSIDE CONDO BUILDING COLLAPSE VICTIMS REACH $997 MILLION SETTLEMENT, ONE YEAR LATER 

Layers of sand and paving stones later were added to the top of the pool deck and there also were signs of corrosion in some parts of the steel reinforcement, leaving the structure overall with a “critically low” margin to safeguard against failure, the investigators reportedly determined. 

The building partially collapsed on June 24, 2021. Around 10 days later, what was left of it was demolished. 

SURFSIDE REMEMBERS THE 98 VICTIMS OF THE TRAGIC ACCIDENT 

“It took over two weeks for my sister Nicky to be recovered,” Martin Langesfeld, who lost his sister in the building collapse, told Fox News Digital around the one-year anniversary of the disaster in 2022. “Every day we would wake up, we wouldn’t sleep much to start off. Every day, we would just hope and pray that we would get notification of anyone being alive just to have hope that our loved ones would be alive. That day never came for any families. It was weeks of agonizing pain and unanswered questions.” 

The relatives of the victims and survivors reached a $1 billion settlement last year. 

 

The exact cause of what caused the building to collapse has not yet been determined. 

Federal investigators looking into the matter don’t expect to issue their final report until May 2025, according to The New York Times. 

Fox News’ Caroline Elliott contributed to this report.