Levine Cava said the proposed demolition has a "very narrow footprint" and officials don't expect additional impacts in the surrounding area or more evacuations.
Fire Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah said at a Saturday morning meeting with families that the building would be demolished “as soon as possible. First thing tomorrow.”
He said details of the demolition would be finalized at a follow-up meeting Saturday afternoon. Jadallah said the remnants of the demolished building would be removed immediately to give rescuers access to the garage area that is the focus of the search.
Aghayere told USA TODAY Saturday he had never heard of an implosion demolition project coming together so quickly.
Joshua Galanter, project coordinator at Thunder Demolition Inc. in Miami, said it typically takes months of engineering, preparing and rigging explosives on the main support columns for a controlled implosion.
Tropical Storm Elsa sped toward Haiti and the Dominican Republic Saturday morning with much of Florida still within its "cone of uncertainty." Elsa may approach the Florida Keys and southern Florida early next week, bringing strong winds and heavy rainfall, according to the National Hurricane Center.
DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday ahead of the storm.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava also signed a local state of emergency Saturday. She said on-site teams continue to monitor the storm and prepare for potential tropical storm force winds and heavy rainfall.
More federal teams have arrived on site, allowing some first responders stationed at the collapse site to shift their attention to storm preparation, Levine Cava said.
Send an email
