Researchers Say Collapsed Miami Building Was Sinking For Decades Before Collapse

A Miami condominium that partially collapsed on early Thursday had been reportedly sinking perhaps as early as the 1990s, according to a researcher.

According to a study in 2020 by Shimon Wdowinski, a professor at Florida International University, the 12-story building built in 1981 has been sinking at an alarming speed since the 1990s at around 2 millimeters a year. 

“I looked at it this morning and said, ‘Oh my God.’ We did detect that,” Wdowinski told USA Today.

“It was a byproduct of analyzing the data. We saw this building had some kind of unusual movement,” he added. 

Wdowinski’s research, “Land subsidence contribution to coastal flooding hazard in southeast Florida,” was mainly focused on flooding risks, not building collapse. In fact, “12-story condominium” was only mentioned once in this paper. 

“We didn’t give it too much importance,” Wdowinski said.

As of Friday afternoon, at least four people are reportedly dead, and 159 others are still missing from this incident.