Building Near Surfside Condo Collapse Site Evacuated: Reports

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Residents of a Miami Beach building located on the same street where a condominium collapse killed nearly 100 people were forced to evacuate this week after city officials determined the structure was unsafe, according to multiple reports.

The city of Miami Beach posted an unsafe structure notice Thursday at the Port Royale condominium, Miami Beach spokesperson Melissa Berthier said in an email to The Associated Press.

A structural engineering report prompted the evacuation of the 164-unit structure, which is in the process of undergoing required recertification. An engineer discovered that a main support beam identified for repair 10 months ago had shifted and that a crack in the beam had expanded, and other structural supports may need repair as well, the report said.

The Port Royale is about 1.3 miles south of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, also on Collins Avenue, where nearly 100 people were killed in a June 2021 collapse.

A large section of the 12-story building collapsed early in the morning of June 24 and emergency personnel searched the rubble for days for survivors. By the end of recovery efforts, 98 people died in the incident.

Officials had deemed the building structurally unsafe in January 2021, and the remaining portion of the building was demolished in July 2021.

The evacuation order was sent to Port Royale residents shortly before 5 p.m., The Miami Herald reported. The condo board gave them approximately two hours to gather their belongings and find temporary housing.

"I got here at like 5:15 and everybody was scrambling. I was super confused," a renter named Katie told the Herald.

Engineers are expected to reinforce areas in need of repair within 10 days, the Herald reported. It's unclear when Port Royale residents will be allowed to return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.