PHOTOS: First Lady Jill Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis find common ground at Surfside remembrance ceremony 1 year after collapse

The collapse of the 13-story beachside building set off a desperate search for survivors that lasted 32 days. At the end, 242 people were accounted for.

The tragedy horrified the nation as viewers all over the country watched the rescue mission unfold.

The ceremony lasted two and a half hours and featured emotional testimony from loved ones and from first responders tasked with searching through the rubble.

The Biden and DeSantis administrations frequently clash over policy. But the two camps put aside their differences on Friday even as back in Washington, DC, the Supreme Court issued a controversial decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Biden did not mention the decision during her remarks, which took place just minutes after the Supreme Court's opinion was released to the public.

Biden instead focused on the people who helped and supported the families who were mourning in Surfside.

"We honor the light you found in each other, a fellowship you never wanted to be part of but draw strength from just the same," she said. "If there is something strong enough to help us carry this burden of grief forward, something able to break its gravitational pull, it's love."

DeSantis signed a bill into law this year that will allocate $1 million toward a memorial on the site where the building collapsed. On Friday he held up the sign that will dedicate the area, calling it, "98 Points of Light Road."

"Every time people drive by they are going to be reminded that there were great people that lived in the tower and this is a tragedy that wounded this community and our state, but we are not going to forget what they meant to this community and our state," he said. "This sign is a small token to do that."

Florida state lawmakers did not address condo reforms during their general session but did pass a bipartisan bill — that DeSantis signed into law — during a special session in May. The law requires condos to have more regular inspections and requires condo associations to have reserves to pay for maintenance.

"Thank goodness that we are here and at least something was done," Democratic state Sen. Annette Taddeo, who is running for Congress, told Insider ahead of the ceremony. "But it was because of the pressure of the press that it finally was done."

On Thursday, a circuit court judge approved a $1 billion settlement, the second-largest class-action lawsuit in Florida state history, according to the Miami Herald. The settlement will go toward family members and survivors of the partial collapse.

"I'm sure there are a lot of conflicting feelings about it because there are people that also survived," Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told Insider before he joined the ceremony. "There are families who there is no amount of money that will ever recompense them for what they lost."

"It's the kind of thing that we see in third world countries," Taddeo said. "It's not something that we expect to see in America, that an entire building collapses 98 people die. It really was a shock to our understanding of our laws, our safety, and where did we fail."

Surfside is a tight-knit Jewish community in Miami-Dade County and organizers said loved ones tuned into the live ceremony from all over the globe.

During remarks at the ceremony, Democratic state Sen. Jason Pizzo shared ways he'd worked with the GOP governor's office and the support he received from the Surfside community after his father's recent death.

"Let's not make tragedy that we get together and not have petty partisanship," he said. "Let's not have loss be the time that we get together and embrace and get things done. Let's stick to the stuff that's important. Because every single one of us here would like to take the days back that we lost with our loved ones."