Gov. Ron DeSantis: Collapsed Condo 'Sister Building' May Be Evacuated

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday, that due to precautionary measures, local officials are considering evacuating residents of a "sister building" to the Surfside, Florida, condo structure that collapsed this week.

The announcement noted the two buildings had similar structural components.

Since the collapse of the Champlain Towers' South Tower on Thursday, residents of the North Tower still remained housed in the condo. For the South Tower, reports have detailed at least four people have died in the collapse, and 159 remain unaccounted for, while, for the third day, emergency responders continue to comb through the debris.

During a Saturday morning press conference, DeSantis and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, indicated they had spoken with Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, who recommended Friday to Burkett that people move out of the North Tower. But they stated the decision to evacuate will ultimately be left to Burkett.

"It was built at the same time with the same designer, so they are looking at working with them and I know they are considering potentially evacuating them, but that's something that ultimately the mayor is going to have to make the call on," DeSantis stated, according to The Hill.

"I don't know if there's indications that there's any problems with that building," he added, "but just given the similarities, given the same age, they think that that may be something."

Surfside Communications Director Malarie Dauginikas commented officials were "working with experts to determine if any necessary and immediate measures need to be taken."

"The safety of our residents is our highest priority," she added. "Should the decision be made to evacuate residents from this tower, we will work directly with FEMA [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] and the Red Cross to ensure all arrangements are made to ensure their safety and make them comfortable."

Both of the Champlain Towers were built in 1981 by the same construction company.

Shimon Wdowinski, a professor in FIU's Department of Earth and Environment, indicated that the South Tower had been sinking since the 1990s.

As of Saturday, there have been no reports of any new survivors.

• Mother of Boy Rescued From Rubble Among 4 Confirmed Dead
• Some of 159 Missing in Surfside Condo Collapse Have International Roots