- A new report from the Miami Herald highlighted the alleged flooding issues in the collapsed Champlain Towers South.
- The equipment room flooded so often that the water pump motor had to be replaced every two years, a worker claimed.
- In 2018, an engineer noted a "major flaw" in the building's parking garage, also related to water damage.
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The equipment room in the collapsed Surfside tower flooded so consistently that the water pump motor used to clear out water had to be replaced every two years a maintenance worker recently told a pool contractor, according to a new report from the Miami Herald.
Eleven people were confirmed dead due to the accident, and authorities in Surfside said that at least 150 people are unaccounted for.
According to the report, a pool contractor, who was not named by the Herald, visited the building two days before the tragic collapse and was surprised by what he saw, specifically about the state of the garage and equipment room at the basement of the building.
While it may take months or longer to determine why the building collapsed, thus far, expert testimony suggests that the likely source of the failure stemmed from the bottom of the building.
The pool contractor noted cracks in the concrete and remarked that the amount of water flooding in the equipment room was unusual.
According to the Herald, a staff member who showed the contractor around the building told them that they were pumping water out of the equipment room so frequently that they had to replace water pumps every two years.
"I thought to myself, that's not normal," the contractor told the Herald, adding that it was one of the worst instances of water damage he had witnessed. The contractor told the Herald that the staff did not inform him about any structural damage in the building.
The report added that below the equipment room, the parking garage frequently flooded as well.
In 2018, an engineer carrying out an inspection of the 40-year-old building noted a "major flaw" in the building's parking garage, where he said that water damage was eroding at concrete structures below.
