UPDATE: Heavy storms likely to disrupt rescue efforts at Florida building collapse for at least an hour
- Officials said one person died when a Florida condo building collapsed early on Thursday.
- There are still 99 people unaccounted for.
- But first responders will need to pause rescue efforts over possible heavy storms.
Heavy storms are likely to disrupt rescue efforts for at least an hour at a high-rise condo in Surfside, Florida, that partially collapsed on Thursday, according to Miami meteorologist Craig Setzer.
As of 10:53 pm ET, the National Weather Service was reporting possible thunderstorms and heavy rain.
A section of Champlain Towers South, located on Collins Avenue crumbled around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, and fire rescue crews from across Miami-Dade and Broward counties arrived on the scene to aid with the search-and-rescue effort.
Officials report at least one person dead and 99 unaccounted for, as of Thursday evening.
According to officials, 37 people in total have been pulled from the rubble so far, and 11 patients are being treated.
One of those rescued from the site was a young boy around 10 years old, reported CBS News.
Raide Jadallah, assistant chief of operations for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, said at a press conference that 55 units in the northeast corner of the 12-story building collapsed.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said that the way the building crumbled makes it difficult for search-and-rescue teams to find survivors.
Authorities are still unsure what caused the building collapse.
"Buildings like these don't fall down in America," Burkett told CBS News anchor Norah O'Donnell.
"This is this is not an old building. This is a new building. I know old buildings because that was my business," he continued. "This building is [from the] 1980s. So it's like, relatively speaking, brand new. And the extent of the collapse is really mind-boggling."