On June 24, 2021, a condominium in Surfside, Florida collapsed, resulting in 98 confirmed deaths and 145 missing. The collapse was likely caused by weakened building structure resulting from a lack of maintenance and corrosion from aggressive storms and rising sea level. The case study by Gladish provides a detailed analysis of this incident, its management, and its epidemiological aspects.
Local and international rescue teams searched the collapsed building for a week with canine teams to look for those missing. However, the search efforts were intermittent as a result of rain and thunderstorms. Additionally, Gladish points out that although communication (i.e. media coverage) of this incident was rapid, the news and updates were not cohesive, which led to further panic within the surrounding communities.
Watch the full presentation below and read the case study here.