A decision has been reached to demolish the remaining unstable part of the collapsed condominium building in Surfside, Florida, as Tropical Storm Elsa flirts in/out of hurricane status [NHC Update] while moving through the Caribbean.

Elsa is anticipated to impact south Florida on Tuesday.  During a press conference today Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the controlled demolition will take place prior to Elsa’s arrival in order to protect rescue and recovery workers.

“Demolition of the unsafe portion of the building is the fastest way to continue rescue operations”, DeSantis announced.  Officials on the ground are fearful that high winds connected to the arriving storm will make the remaining structure too unstable for any rescue operations to continue if they do not take the unstable portion down. Details of the operation to execute a controlled demolition will be released soon.

In the interim all residents in South Florida have been instructed to keep an eye on Elsa as she wobbles across Haiti and Cuba in the next 48 hours.  Most counties in South Florida have been put under a proactive state of emergency status. Slight shifts in the storm, to the east or west, will determine how much of the south Florida area are impacted. The current track puts Elsa on the west side of the state in the Gulf of Mexico late Monday and early Tuesday.

[Key Information from NHC]

 

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