Last week, Florida was struck with a disaster as the Champlain Towers condominium collapsed with search and rescue efforts ongoing. US President Joe Biden expressed his support for an investigation into the cause of the building’s collapse.
During the daily White House press conference, Press Secretary Jen Psaki touched on the topic, confirming that Biden supports an investigation into what led to the condominium to partially collapse. When pressed on whether Biden would prefer a federally-run investigation and the goal, Psaki said that all federal resources that are being sent to Florida would be supportive of the ground efforts.
As well, Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden will be visiting Surfside, Florida, Thursday to survey the damage surrounding the collapse of the building. On the way to Wisconsin, Psaki told reporters that they plan to extend their thanks to the first responders, search and rescue teams, and others involved in efforts to locate residents that were affected in the collapse.
The Bidens will also meet with the families of the residents who are still waiting for any information. Biden will also make sure that search and rescue efforts, both at a federal and state level, have all the resources needed.
Search and rescue operations are still going on six days after the towers collapsed last week. As of Tuesday, 11 people were confirmed dead, and 150 have yet to be accounted for, according to local officials. The White House previously said that Biden would wait to visit the area until it was clear that the security and logistics that came with a presidential visit did not disrupt the search and rescue efforts.
The upcoming visit is in coordination with officials on the ground to make sure that “it does not divert any critical local resources from the search and rescue operations or have any negative operational impact,” said Psaki.
In light of the collapse, reports have revealed that the 40-year-old condominium building has already shown signs of structural damage since 2018. Psaki also said that the federal government wants to play a constructive role in finding the cause of the collapse in order to prevent any similar incidents from happening in the future.