Thousands of aging buildings could be next.
Pull up a map of the Florida coast, drop your finger onto the surface and you'll almost certainly land on a town or city with its own disaster in the making. |
According to one recent study, 918,000 of Florida's condo units are more than 30 years old. Even in the most rigorously built structures, the coastal environment has inevitably taken its toll. Facades are pitted by the salt and sea air. Balconies are crumbling. Water — and rising sea levels — are a fact of life. |
Water on the roads, water slopping up and out of the drains, water in subterranean garages and the very foundations of condo towers packed with hundreds of residents who are frequently blind to the dangers that lie underfoot or, more tragic still, unable to fund the repairs that could save their lives. |
And time is running out.
In our cover story this week, Matthew Shaer reports on how last summer's collapse in Surfside, Fla., exposed the startling truth: There are thousands of aging condo buildings that could be next — and few steps being taken to prevent another tragedy. |
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