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Resilience

Disaster & failure studies

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Media contact

Jennifer Huergo
jennifer.huergo [at] nist.gov, 202-309-1027

News

Press Conference Videos (Captions in English and Spanish)

NIST Announces Expert Team to Investigate the Champlain Towers South Collapse
NIST Announces Expert Team to Investigate the Champlain Towers South Collapse
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the expert team members who will conduct a technical investigation into the June 24, 2021, partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida.
NIST Announces Full Investigation on Champlain Towers South Collapse
NIST Announces Full Investigation on Champlain Towers South Collapse
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced it would launch a full technical investigation into what caused the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South Condominium in Surfside, Florida, on June 24, 2021.

B-Roll Videos

B-Roll Video Reel #1 - Champlain Tower South NIST Investigation
B-Roll Video Reel #1 - Champlain Tower South NIST Investigation
To download this video, click the top right file button.
B-Roll Video Reel #2 - Champlain Tower South NIST Investigation
B-Roll Video Reel #2 - Champlain Tower South NIST Investigation
To download this video, click the top right file button. Captions forthcoming.
B-Roll Video Reel #3- Champlain Tower South NIST Investigation
B-Roll Video Reel #3- Champlain Tower South NIST Investigation
To download this video, click the top right file button.
 

NCST Insider Videos (Captions in English and Spanish)

NCST Insider - featuring Emel Ganapati
NCST Insider - featuring Emel Ganapati
Introducing Miami-based N. Emel Ganapati, who will serve as the Social Science Team Leader on the Evidence Preservation Project. She will lead interviews of residents, first responders, family members and others with knowledge of the building’s condition and collapse.
NCST Insider - featuring Kamel Saidi
NCST Insider - featuring Kamel Saidi
Introducing Kamel Saidi, who is serving as a co-lead on the Remote sensing and Data Visualization Project.

Photo Gallery

Large chunks of concrete bristling with rebar and colored flags sit in a warehouse.
In this January 2022 photo, physical evidence from both the collapsed and imploded sections of Champlain Towers South is stored in a secure warehouse where it has been carefully cataloged and evaluated by members of the National Construction Safety Team investigating the June 24, 2021, collapse.
Credit: NIST
A researcher with a handheld device performs tests with small pieces of colored material lying on a large piece of concrete.
In this January 2022 photo, National Construction Safety Team Evidence Preservation project co-lead David Goodwin evaluates nondestructive test methods for examining structural samples from Champlain Towers South.
Credit: NIST
Three people in safety gear stand in a warehouse looking at chunks of concrete from Champlain Towers.
In this January 2022 photo, National Construction Safety Team members (L-R) Malcolm Ammons, Marisa McCormick and David Goodwin examine structural evidence from Champlain Towers South for details that can be included in a physical evidence database.
Credit: NIST
A researcher in safety gear crouches near a large piece of concrete, looking at a handheld device.
In this January 2022 photo, National Construction Safety Team support member Ruthie Corzo evaluates nondestructive protocols to measure chloride content in concrete with a handheld analyzer.
Credit: NIST
A researcher in safety gear holds a smartphone up to a large piece of concrete and rebar.
In this January 2022 photo, National Construction Safety Team member Malcolm Ammons systematically records information about physical evidence from Champlain Towers South that will help provide clues to its original location and condition.
Credit: NIST
A researcher in safety gear bends over a large piece of concrete and rebar, performing tests with a handheld tool.
In this January 2022 photo, National Construction Safety Team member Marisa McCormick measured steel rebar in a concrete column from Champlain Towers South.
Credit: NIST
A researcher in safety gear leans over a large piece of concrete and rebar, pointing at it with a scanning device.
In this January 2022 photo, National Construction Safety Team member Daniel Sawyer evaluates a 3D scanning protocol for physical evidence from Champlain Towers South.
Credit: NIST
Two people wearing safety gear sit on either side of a concrete column lying on the floor, performing tests on it.
In this January 2022 photo, National Construction Safety Team members Malcolm Ammons and Stephanie Moffitt conduct nondestructive measurements on a single-story column from the garage of Champlain Towers South.
Credit: NIST
A researcher sits at a computer looking at a model of a broken piece of concrete on the screen.
In this February 2022 photo, National Construction Safety Team Remote Sensing and Data Visualization project co-lead Kamel Saidi processes a 3D scan of physical evidence from Champlain Towers South.
Credit: NIST
Broken pieces of concrete marked with blue spray paint lay on the ground near a storage facility.
NIST staff members at the holding site for evidence that may help in the investigation into what caused the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium.
Credit: NIST
Three people in hard hats and other safety gear bend over a broken concrete column marked with blue spray paint.
In this July 6, 2021, photo, NIST engineering experts examine a concrete column from the Champlain Towers South condominium before it was taken from the collapse site for preservation.
Credit: NIST
A piece of broken concrete column is lifted by a crane with construction equipment in the background.
In this July 7, 2021, photo, a concrete column is moved from the debris pile of the Champlain Towers South condominium to a staging area for tagging before being tagged and catalogued as evidence. 
Credit: NIST
Two people in hard hats and other safety gear look at a small piece of broken concrete that one of them is holding.
In this July 1, 2021, photo NIST staff members examine pieces of concrete removed from the debris pile at the site of the Champlain Towers South building partial collapse.
Credit: NIST
A person in a hard hat surrounded by debris including a crushed car takes a picture of a concrete block with a phone.
In this July 2, 2021, photo, a NIST staff member tags and photographs a building element that has been identified for preservation as evidence in the staging area near the site of the Champlain Towers South building collapse.
Credit: NIST
A man in a hard hat and other safety gear takes a picture of a broken concrete column with his phone.
In this July 6, 2021, photo, NIST engineering experts photograph and tag concrete columns from the collapsed Champlain Towers South condominium. Building elements were marked and tagged with unique identifying information before being moved to a long-term holding facility. 
Credit: NIST
Two people in hard hats and other safety gear examine broken concrete columns with a dumpster and a condominium building in the background.
In this July 6, 2021, photo, NIST engineering experts tag and photograph concrete columns from the collapsed Champlain Towers South condominium. Building elements were marked and tagged with unique identifying information before being moved to a long-term holding facility. 
Credit: NIST
Two people in hard hats and other safety gear bend over broken concrete columns marked with blue spray paint, with tents and construction equipment in the background.
In this July 6, 2021, photo, NIST engineering experts tag concrete columns from the collapsed Champlain Towers South condominium. Building elements were marked and tagged with unique identifying information before being moved to a long-term holding facility. 
Credit: NIST
The site of the Champlain Towers South partial collapse in Surfside, Florida
The site of the Champlain Towers South partial collapse in Surfside, Florida.
Credit: NIST
Palm trees stand in the foreground before a pile of debris with construction vehicles.
View of the Champlain Towers South condominium site from a balcony in an adjacent building to the south. NIST has positioned imaging equipment on the balcony to record the locations of items being preserved for study, and to record changes to the site as debris is removed.
Credit: NIST
Equipment stands on tripods on a balcony with the beach and sea in the background.
Cameras and lidar used by NIST and its partners scan and record the site of the Champlain Towers South condominium.
Credit: NIST
A jagged piece of concrete slab on the ground.
Building elements such as columns, beams and floor slabs are identified, removed from the debris pile, tagged and moved to a holding area before the evidence is transported by police escort to an offsite storage facility where it will be preserved for study.
Credit: NIST
A man in a hard hat sits on a concrete column while looking at a scientific device.
NIST is using nondestructive test methods to determine the properties of concrete from the site of the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium. Here, an engineer evaluates the strength and quality of a concrete column using a method called Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV), which measures the velocity of an ultrasonic pulse passing through the sample.
Credit: NIST
Pieces of concrete marked with blue spray paint lay on the ground amid pieces of construction equipment.
Building elements such as columns, beams and floor slabs are identified, removed from the debris pile, tagged and moved to a holding area before the evidence is transported by police escort to an offsite storage facility where it will be preserved for study.
Credit: NIST
Broken concrete column with exposed rebar on the ground
Building elements such as columns, beams and floor slabs are identified, removed from the debris pile, tagged and moved to a holding area before the evidence is transported by police escort to an offsite storage facility where it will be preserved for study.
Credit: NIST
Three people in orange vests stand on a darkened balcony near a tripod.
NIST and National Science Foundation staff members discuss imaging of the Champlain Towers South site using lidar, which uses pulsed laser light to measure distances to objects, creating a 3D representation of the site.
Credit: NIST
A man in a hard hat crouches next to a concrete column, taking measurements.
NIST is using nondestructive test methods to determine the properties of concrete from the site of the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium. Here, an engineer evaluates the strength and quality of a concrete column using a method called Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV), which measures the velocity of an ultrasonic pulse passing through the sample.
Credit: NIST
Four workers in hard hats look down at a damaged concrete pillar.
NIST and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff members inspect a building element from the Champlain Towers South partial collapse in Surfside, Florida, for its evidentiary potential.
Credit: NIST
 
 
 

 

Created June 30, 2021, Updated June 15, 2022