Two items jumped out at me in this Washington Post report about the terrible destruction of the Surfside-Miami-area building:
1. In 2018, the condo association hired a private engineering firm to examine the building:
“In an October 2018 report, engineer Frank P. Morabito wrote that he had discovered “major structural damage” …
2. Despite that, a local government official told the condo board that the building was fine:
“Despite the firm’s report, a Surfside building official told residents at the time that their property was in “very good shape,” according to the condominium association’s meeting minutes.
“That official, Rosendo Prieto, has since left Surfside government …
Other irresponsible parties are involved, and data are still coming in.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/months-before-building-collapse-condo-board-president-warned-damage-to-building-was-accelerating/2021/06/29/e68d28e2-d8f6-11eb-bb9e-70fda8c37057_story.html