Credit: Unsplash

Priorities are shifting from rescue to recovery.

It’s been two weeks since the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. Since the initial search and rescue efforts began, 60 residents of the condominium have been confirmed dead, with around 80 still unaccounted for. As time marches on and hope for survivors dwindle, emergency responders have begun to shift their efforts more toward recovery and confirmation of bodies rather than live rescue.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said this morning that the recovery efforts are “proceeding just as rapidly with just as many people on the pile,” and authorities are “taking as much care as ever” to find victims.

“We are working around the clock to recover victims and to bring closure to the families as fast as we possibly can,” she said.

At 1:20 AM this morning, the rescue workers ceased operations for several minutes to honor the lives lost in the collapse with a moment of silence. Along with the workers, onlookers, officials, and local faith leaders joined in. Nearby, a shrine had been erected on the fence of a local tennis court in remembrance of the victims, with a religious procession walking down the road.

While the precise cause of the collapse still hasn’t been pinned down, new theories and worrying details about the state of the building have been emerging over the last week and a half. Cracks have been spotted in the foundational concrete of the condominium, and work orders for various building repairs seemingly went unanswered or unacknowledged for long stretches of time. Meanwhile, the approximately 300 evacuees that have been displaced by the accident are still in fluctuating housing situations. Many have been placed temporarily in shelters and nearby hotels, but local authorities are concerned that they don’t have the resources to house them long-term.

“I don’t know what the future holds but I am concerned as I have ever been that we will not have the resources, the housing resources to take care of those that we need to take care of,” said Ron Book, the chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust.