Collapsed Miami apartment block demolished ahead of tropical storm

The Miami apartment block that collapsed on June 24 and killed many was demolished in the early hours of Monday morning.

The demolition of the building was brought forward to secure the site ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa.

Search efforts were halted as a precaution as work on the demolition got underway.

“Our top priority is bringing down this building,” Daniella Levine Cava, the mayor of Miami-Dade County, said on Sunday.

“As soon as the building does come down and site has been deemed secure, our search and rescue teams will immediately resume operations.”

Officials said the search would resume within minutes of the demolition being completed. It was scheduled for Sunday between 10pm and 3am (from 3am on Monday, London time).

It took only seconds for the building to collapse completely after the explosives were set off about 10.30pm.

As Florida enters the hurricane season, there were fears that the remnants of the block could become more unstable, posing a threat to fire and rescue teams.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis said the demolition was necessary to protect them.

"We don't know when it could fall over. With these gusts that would create a real severe hazard,” he said.

“Given the fact that the storm is coming, it is the prudent thing to do.”

Crews will begin clearing some of the new debris so rescuers can start making their way into parts of the underground garage that is of particular interest.

Once there, rescuers are hoping that they will gain access for the first time to parts of the garage area that is a focus of interest, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah said.

That could give a clearer picture of voids that may exist in the rubble and could harbour survivors.

At least 24 people are known to have died after the block collapsed on June 24. Another 121 people remain unaccounted for.

On Sunday night Miami-Dade Police revealed the identity of another victim killed in the collapsed building as 58-year-old David Epstein.

Demolition relied on gravity for safety

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Ray Jadallah explained the preparatory work for the demolition.

Holes were drilled in the foundations and filled with explosives.

The intention was to bring the building down within its existing footprint.

The method of demolition is called energetic felling, which uses small detonation devices and relies on the force of gravity.

Residents in Surfside, the neighbourhood in which the block was located, were urged to stay inside.

They were also been advised to shut their windows and switch off the air-conditioning to prevent dust from seeping inside.

Search continues for survivors

Rescuers awaited the "all-clear" after the demolition before immediately diving back in to the task of trying to locate any survivors buried under the rubble, Ms Levine Cava said.

Officials had previously said that the search could resume from 15 minutes to an hour after the detonation.

"We are standing by. We are ready to go in, no matter the time of night," the Mayor said on Sunday night ahead of the blasts.

The Mayor said the demolition went exactly as planned: "It was picture perfect. Exactly what we were told would happen."

"I feel relief because this building was unstable. The building was hampering our search efforts."

Moments after the building was demolished, fireworks could be heard in the distance. Officials acknowledged that the tragedy was continuing to unfold during the holiday.

"This July 4 we're reminded that patriotism isn't just about loyalty to country," said Ms Levine Cava.

"It's about loyalty to one another - to our communities, to those in need whose names or stories we may not know ever, but to whom we are connected by compassion and by resilience."

Fears tropical storm would bring building down

The storm, in which winds were expected to reach 75mph, is bearing down on Florida and could make landfall early in the week.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said the danger was that the storm could scatter debris over the area where survivors are being sought.

“The fear was that the hurricane may take the building down for us, and take it down in the wrong direction,” he said.

President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Florida because of the storm, making federal aid possible.

The latest forecasts have moved the storm westward, mostly sparing South Florida, but National Hurricane Centre meteorologist Robert Molleda said the area could still feel effects.

"We're expecting primarily tropical storm force gusts," Mr Molleda said, referring to gusts above 40mph (64kph).