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u.s. news Diabierna 9 Juli 2021

Recovery workers pledge to press forward in condo collapse

described that it was shaking while many of them sobbed. down approach” to methodi-
before the phone went dead, cally lift material off the de-
he has told Denver’s KDVR- An accordion player unseen bris pile, place it in containers
TV. on a nearby tennis court and evaluate it for evidence
played Aaron Copland’s of human remains. He said
“This wasn’t the miracle we “Fanfare for the Common the process would likely be
prayed for, but it was not for Man,” which was followed by repeated as the crews move
lack of trying by rescue crews a piccolo playing “The Battle to subsequent floors.
whose tireless bravery will Hymn of the Republic.”
never be forgotten,” he said “It’s still a process, slow, te-
in a statement Thursday. On a tall nearby fence, fami- dious process of removing all
lies and well-wishers had of this debris. And so it’s go-
Wasserman Schultz and posted photos of the victims, ing to take a while,” he said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis supportive messages and
pledged financial assistance flowers. Firefighters hung Hope of finding survivors
to families of the victims, a banner atop the fence that was briefly rekindled after
as well as to residents of the read “Miami-Dade Fire Res- workers demolished the re-
building who survived but cue Mourns With You.” mainder of the building, al-
lost all their possessions, lowing rescuers access to new
while acknowledging the Miami-Dade Assistant Fire areas of debris.
devastating toll the tragedy Chief Raide Jadallah told
(AP) — Rescue workers clock to recover victims and has taken on them over the weeping families during a Some voids where survivors
now focused on finding re- to bring closure to the fami- past two weeks. private briefing on Wednes- could have been trapped did
mains instead of survivors lies as fast as we possibly can.” day that the rescuers’ “sole exist, mostly in the basement
in the rubble of a Florida “Is there hope? Will we be responsibility at this point is and the parking garage, but
condominium collapse The painstaking search for able to have a miracle? I know to bring closure.” no one was found alive. In-
paused briefly atop the survivors shifted to a re- it’s weighed a lot on the fami- stead, teams recovered more
pile Thursday to mark the covery effort at midnight lies,” DeSantis said. Later, during a news confer- than a dozen additional vic-
two-week anniversary of Wednesday after authorities ence, Jadallah said crews re- tims. Because the building
the disaster but said they said they had come to the ag- In addition to property tax re- mained committed to doing fell in the early morning
had no plans to pull back onizing conclusion that there lief for residents of the build- whatever it takes to finish the hours, many were found
during the recovery effort. was “no chance of life” in ing, DeSantis said the state job. dead in their beds.
the rubble of the Champlain government will work to-
The death toll rose to 60, Towers South condo build- ward channeling an outpour- “The resources are still No one had been pulled out
with another 80 people un- ing in Surfside. ing of charitable donations to there. The men and women alive since the first hours af-
accounted for, Miami Dade families affected by the col- are still there. The support is ter the 12-story building fell
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava “When that happened, it lapse. Levine Cava said crews still there,” said Jadallah, who on June 24.
said at a news conference took a little piece of the hearts were also collecting and cata- began crying silently after he
Thursday. Detectives are still of this community,” said U.S. loguing a long list of personal spoke. Twice during the search op-
working to verify that each Rep. Debbie Wasserman items, including legal docu- eration, rescuers had to sus-
of those listed as missing was Schultz, whose congressional ments, photo albums, jew- Miami-Dade Fire Rescue pend the mission because of
actually in the building when district includes Surfside. elry, wallets, and electronic Chief Alan Cominsky said the instability of the remain-
it collapsed. Meanwhile, res- goods that they would seek he expects the recovery effort ing part of the condominium
cue workers who have been Michael Stratton, whose wife, to reunite families with. will take several more weeks. building and the preparation
at the site for two weeks are Cassie, has not officially been for demolition.
dedicated to the task of re- confirmed dead, said friends The change from search and Dennis Dirkmaat, an anthro-
covering as many victims as and family had accepted “the rescue to recovery was som- pology professor who chairs Authorities are launching a
possible, Levine Cava said. loss of a bright and kind soul ber. Hours before the tran- the Department of Applied grand jury investigation into
with an adventurous spirit.” sition Wednesday, rescue and Forensic Sciences at the collapse and at least six
“The work continues with all He was talking on the phone workers stood at solemn at- Mercyhurst University, said lawsuits have been filed by
speed and urgency,” she said. with his wife right when the tention, and clergy members he expects crews will use Champlain Towers families.
“We are working around the building collapsed, and she hugged a line of local officials heavy equipment in a “top

Governor asks Californians to voluntarily cut water use

(AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on frequency of watering lawns. A historic drought tied to climate change is grip-
Thursday asked people and businesses in the ping the U.S. West and comes just a few years after
nation’s most populous state to voluntarily “Given how low the reservoirs are going to be at California declared its last dry spell over in 2016.
cut how much water they use by 15% as the the start of next year, the governor wanted to issue The earlier drought in California depleted ground-
Western United States weathers a drought the voluntary call in the event that next year is also water supplies and changed how people use wa-
that is rapidly emptying reservoirs relied on dry,” said Karla Nemeth, director of the California ter, with many people and businesses ripping out
for agriculture, drinking water and fish habi- Department of Water Resources. “The voluntary landscaping and replacing it with more drought-
tat. conservation is as much about planning for a dry tolerant plants.
next year as anything.”
Newsom’s request is not an order, but it demon- Compared to before the previous drought, urban
strates the growing challenges of a drought that Newsom also added nine counties to an emergen- water usage in California is down an average of
will only worsen throughout the summer and fall cy drought proclamation that now covers 50 of the 16%. But scientists say this drought is already hot-
and is tied to recent heat waves. Temperatures in state’s 58 counties. ter and drier than the previous drought, accelerat-
parts of the region are spiking this week but are less ing the impact on people and the environment.
intense than the record heat wave that may have Large cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego and
caused hundreds of deaths in the Pacific North- San Francisco, are not included under the emer- Some of the state’s most important reservoirs are
west and British Columbia a week ago. gency proclamation. But Newsom is still asking at dangerously low levels. Lake Oroville in North-
people who live in heavily populated areas to re- ern California is at 30% capacity, and state officials
California’s Democratic governor is asking for vol- duce their water consumption because they rely on worry water levels could get so low they might
untary water conservation, which would include rivers and reservoirs in drought-stricken areas for have to shut down a hydroelectric plant later this
things like taking shorter showers, running dish- much of their supply. year. Along the Russian River, officials fear Lake
washers only when they are full and reducing the Mendocino could empty later this year.