Miami Beach Condo Evacuated Due To Structural Concerns

A Miami Beach, Florida condominium was evacuated on Thursday (October 27) due to structural concerns, with residents given only a few hours to leave, Local10.com reports.

The Port Royale building on Collins Avenue was included in an unsafe structure notice posted by the City of Miami Beach and residents of the 164-unit building were given a few hours to leave by 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

The evacuation required residents to leave immediately based on a report from the building's structural engineer, Miami Beach officials confirmed to Local10.com.

The condo is currently in its recertification process.

The evacuation took place 18 months after the collapse of a condo in nearby Sunrise resulted in the deaths of 98 people.

The Champlain Towers South condominium experienced a partial collapse on June 24. The Surfside condo was built in 1982 and going through its 40-year recertification one month prior to its collapse, requiring an engineer to ensure the building's structural and electrical safety, often leading to the need for costly repairs.

A structural field survey report conducted by an engineer in October 2018 revealed evidence of "major structural damage" to the concrete slab below the pool deck and "abundant" cracking and crumbling of the columns, beams and walls of the parking garage under the building, the New York Times reported.

The field survey led to plans for a multimillion-dollar repair project that was scheduled to begin soon -- more than two and a half years after the building managers received a warning -- prior to the collapse.

The complex's management association had disclosed some of the problems following the incident on Thursday, but the full nature of the concrete and rebar damage was not made public until the 2018 report was released by city officials on June 25.