Residents ordered to evacuate building near deadly Surfside condo collapse in Florida

Residents of a Miami Beach building on the same street where a condominium collapse killed nearly 100 people were forced to evacuate on Thursday evening after officials determined the structure was unsafe and ordered them to leave.

Miami Beach spokesperson Melissa Berthier said around 4 p.m. Thursday that the city planned to post an unsafe structure notice and order residents of the 14-story Port Royale building to vacate immediately. Around 5 p.m., the condo board sent residents a mandatory notice to vacate by 7 p.m., the Miami Herald reported.

Residents of the Port Royale said city of Miami Beach officials informed them Wednesday that the building would need to be evacuated, but the notice to leave immediately wasn't delivered until Thursday, WPLG-TV reported.

A report from the building's structural engineer prompted the evacuation notice of the 164-unit structure at 6969 Collins Avenue, which is in the process of undergoing a 50-year recertification.

The site of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida, that collapsed in June 2021 and killed 98 people is also on Collins Avenue, about 1.3 miles from the Port Royale.

The disaster at the 12-story oceanfront condo building in Surfside drew the largest non-hurricane emergency response in Florida history, including rescue crews from across the U.S. and as far away as Israel to help local teams search for victims.

Engineers have recommended additional "shoring" to reinforce areas needing repair be installed in the Port Royale's garage to support a damaged beam. 

Tenants learned they had to find somewhere else to stay for at least 10 days, CBS Miami reported.

The station spoke with Marash Markaj, who's owned a unit at the location for seven years.

He said he's been a contractor for 20 years and he started seeing red flags while doing renovations on his own unit.

"I see some parts of the slab falling apart. I see inside and I was very concerned. I see some cracks and then I drive into the parking spot and water came inside the building and it stayed there for a couple of days," said Markaj.

Markaj showed CBS Miami several pictures he took of the damage. He says he showed them to building management as well.

He noted issues with the foundation, concerns about standing water, and issues with the foundation wall. He also took pictures of cracks he found in the concrete beams.