Governor Ron DeSantis Offers State Help to those Displaced by Surfside Condo Collapse

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced plans to work with landlords from the Miami-Dade County to help find temporary housing for residents residing in a Surfside condo building that collapsed on Thursday.

This 12-story beachfront condo partially collapsed at 1:30 AM, killing at least four people (updated) and leaving over 100 people unaccounted for late Thursday afternoon. Roughly half of the buildings 130 units were affected and the death toll could continue to rise, according to Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett. “The building is literally pancaked,” Burkett said. “That is heartbreaking because it doesn’t mean to me that we are going to be as successful as we wanted to be in finding people alive.”

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, DeSantis said, “TV doesn’t do it justice and it is really, really traumatic to see the collapse of a massive structure like that. Right now we have the fire rescue, they are in search-and-rescue mode. They are trying to identify survivors. I know they have made contact with some and they are, they’re doing everything they can to save lives, and that is ongoing, and they’re not going to rest and so thanks for what they’re doing.”

DeSantis has authorized the use of state resources to survey the damage that the community has faced in Surfside. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) will initiate its Business Damage Assessment Survey “to ensure proper resources are available for response and recovery for the Surfside community”. This decision by DeSantis will ensure that there is ample funding to help all individuals affected by this disaster. Any businesses affected by the collapse can receive funding to help recover through the DEO website.

In addition to DeSantis’ announcement of help for those affected by the collapse, the Red Cross will help affected individuals find short-term hotel lodging. In a press release, the Red Cross announced their plans to help: “To help people cope, the American Red Cross provided emergency hotel lodging last night for residents and others displaced by the crisis. Trained Red Cross caseworkers are meeting with families today and in the days ahead to help them plan their next steps and provide financial assistance when needed. With Red Cross volunteers on the ground and more on their way, we are meeting families where they are by distributing basic support like food, water and comfort items — and offering mental health support and spiritual care as survivors begin to process their emotions.

Stay tuned to Media Right News for any updates.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *