Pedestrian bridge in construction collapsed at Florida International University on March 15, 2018. causing injuries and damage. The Miami-Dade County fire chief says four people have been found dead in the rubble of a collapsed pedestrian bridge in South Florida.
Fire Chief Dave Downey said at a news briefing Thursday evening that four deceased people had been found at the scene by first responders. He also says nine victims were removed “early on” and taken to hospitals.
“We have multiple victims, the number hasn’t been determined yet,” Miami Dade County Deputy Mayor Maurice Kemp said at a late afternoon news conference. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Division Chief Paul Estopinan said eight vehicles were trapped under the bridge and eight victims were transported to the hospital. Next news conference, according to the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department was scheduled approximately for 7:00 p.m. local time.
Shortly after the incident, the company, Munilla Construction Management reacted with posts published to their Facebook page, expressing distress and referring to a loss of life. In a statement published, it said the bridge was “under construction.” The statement, giving information that the bridge was under construction, provoked reactions by residents challenging the way of construction in Miami.
The company promised “thorough investigation,” to find what transpired. Couple of days before this incident, the company announced that on Saturday, March 10, 2018, they “will be positioning a 174-foot section of the Florida International University-Sweetwater University City Bridge.” The company noted as a fun fact the bridge weights 950 tons, “equivalent to approximately 271 elephants.” Hours after the accident, the company had that statement on their Facebook page with residents commenting the incident.
In a statement, Florida International University said they “are shocked and saddened about the tragic events unfolding at the FIU-Sweetwater pedestrian bridge.” FIU explained, “We are still involved in rescue efforts and gathering information.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation, BBC News reports, funded the bridge that costs $14.2 million. It is 174 ft (53m) cable-supported footbridge. As the National Public Radio reports, senior project manager Rodrigo Isaza, from, MCM said, “It is largest pedestrian bridge move via Self-Propelled Modular Transportation in U.S.” MCM collaborated with FIGG Bridge Engineers to design and build the bridge.
Members of the aloof neighborhood held vigils and prayers for 17 persons who died in a rampage that happened on Wednesday at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The authorities moved with the body identifications, and informed the families before publicly disclosing the names of the victims.
FL school shooting victims:
Carmen Schentrup Meadow Pollack Peter Wang Nicholas Dworet Chris Hixon Aaron Feis Luke Hoyer Alaina Petty Jaime Guttenberg Martin Duque Alyssa Alhadeff Helena Ramsey Scott Beigel Joaquin Oliver Cara Loughran Gina Montalto Alex Schachter
Officials on Thursday said that former student Nicolas Cruz is charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and he appeared at the court with its public defender.
A judge ordered held without bond. Several law enforcement sources said to the NBC News that Cruz bought the 223-caliber rifle legally at a federal licensed gun store in Broward County.
The death of 17 people was a shock for the community to the level of upset caused with the shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012, when 26 people died.
The Associated Press reports that the public defender called Cruz a “broken human being.” The authorities tried to investigate social media presence of Cruz and it appeared that accounts related to his name have disturbing posts including possible posing with guns and ammunition. As Federal Bureau of Investigation agents participate in the investigation, it was published that FBI agent Rob Lasky had red flag on the comment that appeared under YouTube upload in 2017, which stated “I’ m going to be a professional school shooter.”
FBI could not verify if the comment is written from the account with the name Nikolas Cruz. A day after the shooting, as the AP reports that the leader of a white nationalist militia called the Republic of Florida said Cruz was a member of this group and that he participated in exercises in Tallahassee. This group reportedly wants “Florida to become its own white ethno-state.”
The AP states that when arrested, Cruz had a maroon polo shirt bearing an ROTC insignia and the school’s eagle mascot. Cruz moved to Broward County in around Thanksgiving, as the AP explains. A lawyer for the family where Cruz moved, Jim Lewis, said, “they knew that Cruz owned the AR-15 but made him keep locked up in a cabinet.”
As the AP reports, federal officials said the Smith & Wesson M&P15 . 223 was purchased legally at Sunrise Tactical Gear in Florida. “Cruz passed a background check and legally purchased the assault weapon from a licensed dealer in February 2017, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation but not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity,” the AP reports.
CNN focuses on the social media accounts of Cruz and writes, “His social media posts also paint what Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel called a “very, very disturbing” picture, and the FBI says it received at least two threat reports about Cruz, according to a law enforcement official.” CNN reports that, “Yet on the morning of the massacre, the family that took the 19-year-old into their home didn’t notice anything terribly strange about the young man’s behavior, the family’s attorney said Thursday.”
As night passes in Florida, Hurricane Irma continues its way but weakens as category 1 storm, still endangers with torrential rains and winds. During the night the storm, 400-mile-wide (640-kilometer-wide) slammed into Marco Island and brought winds of 130 mph.
In Naples, waters swelled 7 feet, according to the National Hurricane Center, the Tampa Bay Times reports, adding that at the Fort Myers airport, a wind gauge clocked an 88 mph gust.
Over the night, Irma weakened, but TV anchors standing outside on the rain warned people to stay away of the danger. From what was visible during the wind gusts, it appears large part of Florida sustain the effects of the strong 140 mph winds. During night, Irma passed through Tampa-St. Petersburg area late Sunday.
The storm pulled the ocean water out of bays, crashed at least three construction cranes, two in Miami, one in Fort Lauderdale, and flooded parts of downtown Miami.
With more than 3.3 million homes and businesses in Florida that lost power, it will take weeks for power companies to restore electricity. Fallen trees, tree branches block roads, floodwater, rain and strong winds removed everyone from homes and urged evacuation of about 6 million people in Florida.
About 160.000 people waited in shelters statewide. On early Morning, Irma’s center was about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of the heavily populated Tampa-St. Petersburg area, the National Hurricane Center published.
“While it arrived in Florida a Category 4 hurricane, it was down to a Category 1 with winds of 85 mph (135 kph),” NHC reports.
Later on Monday as Irma would go far northern Florida or southern Georgia, it will become a tropical storm.
The storm surge could bring flash waters and, according to Hurricane Center, this is what residents in these places could expect in the following days.
Cape Sable to Captiva…4 to 6 ft
Captiva to Anna Maria Island…3 to 5 ft
North Miami Beach to Cape Sable, including the Florida Keys…3 to 5
ft
Anna Maria Island to Clearwater Beach, including Tampa Bay…2 to 4
ft
South Santee River to Fernandina Beach…4 to 6 ft
Clearwater Beach to Ochlockonee River…4 to 6 ft
Fernandina Beach to Jupiter Inlet…3 to 5 ft
According to Associated Press article, Weakened Irma Lashes Tampa Bay region,; Full impact unknown by Tamara Lush, “there were no immediate reports of deaths in Florida.” Before arriving in Florida, Irma killed 24 people in the Caribbean, and in Cuba ruined iconic site. After Florida, Irma would continue to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and beyond.
Curfews were imposed in Miami, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and much of the rest of South Florida. Police in Fort Lauderdale arrested nine people caught on TV cameras steeling from a store during hurricane.
Hurricane Irma swerved slightly to the north, Miami Herald published on Sunday, as southeast Florida could devastating winds longer. Miami Herald writes that winds and storm surge could continue in Miami-Dade. There, flooding swept across Brickell Avenue.
Miami-Dade has 43 shelters open for Hurricane Irma — by far, the most in county history — and about 31,000 people are inside them.
The Associated Press reports that, the National Hurricane Center projects 15 to 20 inches (38 to 50 centimeters) of rain with spots up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) for the Florida Keys. Western Florida could get 10 to 15 inches of rain, or 25 to 38 centimeters.
Second crane collapses in Miami, as the Associated Press tweeted on Sunday. Earlier, Torrential rains and strong winds caused a crane to collapse over a building in construction in Miami. One of the employees of the weather service’s in Miami witnessed collapsing crane. It was unknown if the collapse make damage or cause injuries. Construction sites were of concern, but it was not enough time to move the cranes.
Florida authorities said that by Sunday afternoon there were more than 390 shelters open with more than 72,000 people inside.
“This is a life-threatening situation,” Florida Governor Rick Scott said at a news briefing Sunday in Tallahassee, the state’s capital. “The storm is here now.”
At least 25 people in one Florida county have been arrested for violating a curfew imposed as Hurricane Irma approached the state. Palm Beach County authorities say the arrest were made after a 3 p.m. Saturday curfew was imposed. The misdemeanor charge can carry a fine of up to $500 and potentially 60 days in jail.
Irma Headed Southwest Florida Coast
The National Hurricane Center says Category 4 Hurricane Irma is now “headed for the southwest Florida coast” as winds continue to pick up speed in all of South Florida.
The National Weather Service confirmed it had never before issued a tropical-storm warning for Atlanta, where wind gusts could reach 55 mph (88 kph). That’s nothing new to Savannah and the rest of coastal Georgia, which evacuated last October for Hurricane Matthew.
The White House says the U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the officials Sunday from the Camp David presidential retreat, where he was spending the weekend.
Trump has been in regular contract with Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio over the past week. Chief of staff John Kelly spoke Sunday with Florida Sen. Bill Nelson.
Emergencies were declared in Georgia and the Carolinas. President Trump received a briefing on Sunday and spoke with governors of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, the White House said. Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee could be affected by the storm, which struck the Florida Keys on Sunday.
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for all of southern Florida and the Florida Keys.
Hurricane Irma began its landfall at daybreak on Sunday after the northern eyewall reaches the lower Florida Keys. It started its assault as Category 4 storm and hit the area with winds near 130 mph.
As Irma approached Florida, conditions deteriorate as hurricane brought heavy rain and furious winds. National Hurricane Center expects Irma to remain a powerful storm and to move from the east coast to the west coast.
The Key West International Airport measured winds of 50 mph with a gust of up to 70 mph. With mammoth size and storm surge as high as 15 feet (4,5 meters) this could be most devastating hurricane to hit Florida since Hurricane Andrew that hit South Florida, killing 43 and causing $30.5 billion in damage.
About 423.000 electric customers are without electricity as heavy rains and wind are causing damages.
Hurricane trajectory changed and many evacuate in last minute, as severe weather risk put residents of St. Petersburg in danger.
“For five days, we were told it was going to be on the east coast, and then 24 hours before it hits, we’re now told it’s coming up the west coast,” said Jeff Beerbohm, a 52-year-old entrepreneur in St. Petersburg. “As usual, the weatherman, I don’t know why they’re paid,” Beerbohm said to the Associated Press.
Irma had knocked out power to about 2 million customers by Sunday morning, said Rob Gould, a spokesman for Florida Power and Light. It had restored power to about 320,000 of those customers before noon, leaving 1.7 million without power, he said.
Gould also said there were people impersonating utility employees and then robbing people in their homes at gunpoint, warning customers not to let anyone into their homes without proper identification.
Fire-rescue personnel raced to Little Haiti in response to a call of distress from a woman in labor, according to Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso, and helped deliver the baby. “Mom and baby are good,” he said.
The storm already has heavily damaged some Caribbean islands, devastating Barbuda and tearing across Anguilla. Michael Joseph, president of the Red Cross in Antigua and Barbuda, said Barbuda is “uninhabitable” and in a “total blackout” with almost all of its infrastructure destroyed.
As Irma nears the west coast, it’s expected to weaken as it brushes up against land and faces stronger wind shear. At 24 hours, forecasters expect sustained winds to drop to 90 mph and at 36 hours, fall below tropical storm force at 45 mph.
As of 12:30 PM, @StateDept in coordination with @DeptofDefense has resumed evacuation of U.S. citizens from St. Maarten to Puerto Rico.
It’s still not clear whether Irma will make landfall as it rolls up the Florida coast toward the Panhandle, but a close brush, and even a landfall, is possible near Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg. If it hits, Irma would be the first strike by a major hurricane in 90 years, when the population ballooned from about 10,000 to more than 4 million.
Before heading to Florida, Hurricane Irma caused extensive damage to Cuba.
At least one person died and up to 17 are shot at a night club in Fort Myers, Florida. Police officers are in the club, but victims are not identified. The club hosted a party for teenagers. NBC News publishes the victims were aged between 12 and 27. Five blocks from the club, police said, shoot injured another person. Police detained three people for questioning early Monday. This shooting happens after the shooting in a night club in Orlando, where 49 people died.
Aleksandra Dukovska 