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A Miami courthouse is closed for repairs after a review prompted by the Surfside condo collapse found safety concerns

Jul 11, 2021, 07:23 IST
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This Oct. 8, 2020 photo shows the Miami-Dade County Courthouse in Miami. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
  • Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava order audits of buildings 40 years or older.
  • The call came after the Champlain Towers South building partially collapsed late last month.
  • The Miami-Dade County Courthouse was closed after it was found to be structurally unsafe.
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The historic Miami-Dade County Courthouse closed on Friday and will go through immediate repairs after an evaluation prompted by the Surfside building collapse found safety concerns, Miami-Dade County officials said in a statement.

An engineering firm that evaluated the building said floors 16 and above of the 28-story building should be closed.

Staff on all floors of the courthouse are being told to work from home starting on Monday as the courthouse is repaired.

Court business will be conducted remotely as well, the press release said.

At a press conference on Saturday, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said workers had only returned from working remotely for a week "so they have everything they need to continue to operate remotely and also at other locations, so it should not disrupt substantially."

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At least 86 people have died after the Champlain Towers South Condo in Surfside partially collapsed on June 24.

On July 4, the remaining units of the building were demolished ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa, pausing the search and rescue effort at the time. Officials shifted from rescue to recovery efforts on Wednesday.

At the press conference, Cava said 43 people are still "potentially unaccounted for."

A 2018 report found the condo building had "major structural damage" including "abundant" cracking, but it's not clear if that was what caused the collapse.

Following the collapse, Cava ordered an audit of all buildings that are more than 40 years old.

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Another building in North Miami was also evacuated when it was found to be unsafe following an evaluation.

The Associated Press reported that a review by the engineering firm U.S. Structures Inc. found the courthouse had structural distress, including concrete columns that have numerous cracks.

Officials did not say what specific repairs would be done.

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