The dead included members of the area\u2019s large Orthodox Jewish community, along with the sister of Paraguay\u2019s first lady, her family, and their nanny. A Miami judge approved<\/a> a more than $1 billion settlement for personal injury and wrongful death claims from the disaster.<\/p>\n \t Harley Tropin, who represented the families of victims and survivors in a class-action lawsuit, declined to comment on the new report.<\/p>\n The structure didn\u2019t meet the building codes in place at the time, and the building\u2019s construction did not follow the design, including large planters being added on the pool deck, explained Mitrani-Reiser.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some locations, the design provided less than half of the code-required strength,\u201d she said<\/p>\n Work done later around the pool, in which sand and pavers were added, further strained an \u201calready structurally inadequate\u201d system, she said. Meanwhile, reinforcing steel in the pool deck and street-level parking slabs was corroded in some areas, according to NIST.<\/p>\n Photos taken by people at the building in the weeks before the collapse show a long crack in a planter wall on the pool deck as well as cracks in the corner where the planter wall met a planter box, according to the NIST report. Less than a day before the collapse, that planter had detached from the pool deck.<\/p>\n About one week before the tower collapsed, water that had been leaking from a ceiling in the parking garage increased, according to NIST. A few hours before the destruction, one person interviewed by investigators described it as a \u201cwater faucet.\u201d<\/p>\n People in the building described seeing the pool deck collapsing, \u201cone bay at a time as if dominoes were falling in a sequential chain reaction,\u201d said Mitrani-Reiser. Some said they felt a sudden wind in the lobby and others heard sounds like a \u201cjet engine.\u201d<\/p>\n The pool deck started falling minutes before two parts of the tower. A strong concrete wall helped to keep the destruction from completely spreading to the third section, according to NIST.<\/p>\n \t The companies responsible for designing and building the original structure in the late 1970s are no longer in operation.<\/p>\n After the collapse, state legislators enacted a law in 2022 requiring condo associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major repairs. Some residents were caught off guard by hefty fees imposed to cover years of deferred maintenance expenses required to bring their buildings into compliance with the law\u2019s standards. That led to another law providing condo associations and residents more flexibility in handling the costs.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tCoast Guard boats patrol in front of the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida, July 1, 2021. (Mark Humphrey\/AP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26173854421149-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tFurniture sits perched in the remains of apartments sheared in half in the still standing portion of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida, July 2, 2021. (Mark Humphrey\/AP)<\/p>\n
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