Miami-Dade mayor orders audit of buildings over 40 years old following collapse

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (D) has ordered an audit of all buildings over 40 years old in the area following the collapse of a residential building in Surfside, Fla., that’s left four people dead and hundreds unaccounted for.

Cava said in a news conference on Saturday that the county will be conducting the audit over the next 30 days, aiming to quickly remedy any issues that arise from the audits.

“We want to make sure that every building has completed their re-certification process, and we want to move swiftly to remediate any issues that may have been identified in that process,” Cava said. 

“So, we’re going to conduct this audit within the next 30 days, and we are beginning right now,” she continued.

Emergency responders are still conducting search and rescue efforts for victims after the Champlain Towers South condo building collapsed on Thursday.

As of Saturday morning, 159 people are still missing, and 120 people have been accounted for.

The town of Surfside released a structural report on the building from 2018 late Friday night. In it, an engineering consultant detailed “major structural damage” that informed plans for future repairs.

Cava’s office said in a statement that the county will audit all residential properties of five stories or higher that are at least 40 years old, and have not completed recertification.

The county requires buildings undergo recertification to determine the structural condition of the building beginning at the 40-year mark, and every 10 years afterward.

In the news conference, she asked cities that are not within the county’s authority to join in the review.

“There are buildings located within cities that are beyond the county’s regulatory authority and I invite cities to join with us in this aggressive review of situations in these buildings to make sure that they are safe.”