The Champlain Towers condo building that collapsed in Surfside had been sinking at a steady rate for years, according to research from Florida International University.
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An early-morning view of the devastation from the Champlain Towers condo collapse in Surfside. |
In a video interview produced by FIU, Wdowinski said that included the precise spot of Thursday's building collapse.
Wdowinski's study was
published last year in the Ocean & Coastal Management
journal.
In the video interview Wdowinski said the findings in
Surfside were unexpected. While the western part of the
barrier island was built on reclaimed wetland, which is more
susceptible to sinking, the eastern side was built on a
rockier, more solid foundation. Nevertheless, Wdowinski said
he and his team noticed an unusual pocket of movement
underneath the 12-story condo building, which is on the
eastern side along the oceanfront.
According to the satellite data Wdowinski collected, the
condo was sinking at a rate of about 2 millimeters per year
from 1993 to 1999.
Authorities still don't know the cause of the devastating
collapse at Champlain Towers, which was built in 1981.
Atorod Azizinamini, chair of FIU's engineering college, also
appears in the interview clip; he noted that an
investigation into the cause of the collapse could take
months.
While the gradual sinking in and of itself is unlikely to
have caused the collapse, Wdowinski said, any time a
building and the ground underneath it start to move, it's
alarming.
A separate study conducted by Wdowinski and also published
in 2020 found structural damage at several other sinking
areas in Miami, mostly around Biscayne Bay. The study showed
cracks on structures at Matheson Hammock Park, Morningside
Park, Haulover Park, and FIU's Kovens Conference Center, all
of which were built between 1930 and 1960 on reclaimed
marshland.
Images included in the study show cracks in sidewalks,
stairs, and seawalls at the locations. While the researchers
didn't warn of imminent danger at those sites, they noted
that the damage suggests Florida's southeast coast is
gradually sinking in various places around Miami-Dade
County.
The process of gradual sinking is known as land subsidence.
In South Florida, it's often caused when developers build
upon reclaimed wetlands. Buildings and cement structures
press down on the underlying rock, squashing it in a process
called sediment compaction and placing it under intense
pressure over time. In some parts of Florida, the process
can cause sinkholes.
Wdowinski's study concluded that the double whammy of
sea-level rise and land subsidence may lead to further
property damage and flood risk in South Florida in the
future. Wdowinski believes the satellite technology used in
his studies can help detect vulnerable buildings and prevent
future disasters.