MIAMI BEACH, Fla.—A three-story apartment building in South Florida was evacuated after an inspector discovered structural damage in a vacant unit.
Fire officials in Miami Beach were called to the residential building Saturday evening, spokesperson Melissa Berthier said in an email. A city building inspector found a flooring system failure and “excessive deflection” on an exterior wall.
The building was evacuated out of an abundance of caution, Berthier said.
The building contains 24 units, and 11 units were unoccupied. Only one person needed assistance with finding somewhere else to stay.
The evacuation comes as several residential buildings were being evaluated in response to partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside that has killed at least 24 people, with 121 people still unaccounted for.
On Friday in North Miami Beach, residents were forced out of the 156-unit Crestview Towers after it was deemed structurally and electrically unsafe.
And a condo building with 72 units in Kissimmee, Florida, was reported to county officials Tuesday after contractors said there were “significant” structural issues. Some residents chose a 14-day stay in hotels paid for by the county, while others appeared to remain in their homes despite the warning, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
