Miami Surfside condo that collapsed killing 98 people had a defective pool deck

Investigators probing the collapse of a condo building in Miami which killed 98 people say the pool deck had 'severe strength deficiency'.

Preliminary findings have revealed that the property, where 55 of the 136 units in the 13-story tower collapsed, failed to meet other codes and ignored early warning signs about the deck.

An engineering report from 2018 flagged up issues with the pool deck, which were described as major at the time.

Officials with the National Institute of Standards and Technology have not reached any conclusions about the cause of the collapse. 

A report on the cause and potential recommendations for updating codes and standards is expected to be released in 2025. 

Preliminary findings have revealed that the property failed to meet other codes and ignored early warning signs about the deck 

In a new summary of the report the NIST said that the pool deck had 'critically low margins against failure.'

Investigators say it was severely under-designed in the portion of the deck that collapsed seven minutes before the rest of the tower fell in the early hours of June 24, 2021.

They noted that problems began with pervasive weaknesses in the structural design were exacerbated by misplacement and corrosion of the reinforcing steel within the deck.

It also stated that by adding planters and heavy pavers the weaknesses were exposed to more weight, as they were not accounted for in the original designs.

Rescue teams scoured the rubble for weeks searching for survivors, and the Sunshine State later enacted laws that requires condos to pass milestone structural inspections and to fully fund their reserves.