President Biden Reassures Surfside Families of Condo Collapse
Biden expressed his grief to comfort families of the Florida building collapse and encouraged them never to lose hope
Joe Biden, the President of the United States, expressed his grief to comfort families of the Florida building collapse. He told them never to give up hope even as the search of the teams for survivors paused yesterday, one week after the condo collapse. Biden was addressing some of the families affected by the tragedy, and he spoke in deeply personal terms as the president offered his support and prayers in a direct meeting with them. He also wished to ease the pain of the families.
Today, the First Lady and I are in Surfside, Florida to meet and thank first responders and to comfort the families enduring this tragedy.
Our hearts go out to these families. Those working around the clock to respond to this tragedy have our deepest gratitude.
In the initial months of Biden’s term, he used his empathy of his late first wife, late baby daughter, and late adult son to console those who lost loved ones, including the over six lac who died in the coronavirus pandemic. The president described his own despair at having to what to realize how the family managed after a tragedy such as the one experienced in Surfside. Biden spent over three hours privately speaking with those families, initially addressing them, and then he moved family to family to listen to their stories.
Jill Biden also Joined the President during His Meeting with Families
Biden’s remarks, also translated into Spanish, encouraged the victim families never to lose hope, even as the rescue and search operation temporarily stopped early Thursday because of the structural concerns with the remaining part of the building. Attendees have tears in their eyes as the president concluded his remarks. Afterward, Biden and his wife Jill Biden spent some hours visiting privately with those families. Later, the president told reporters that amazed with the resilience of the families and their absolute commitment to finding an answer as to what happened.
Joe Biden Visited Surfside Families of Condo Collapse to Console Them Source: Web
Biden Arrived in Florida a Week after the Collapse
President Bident arrived in Florida after one week of the 12-story building collapse (Champion towers South beachfront condominium) that killed at least eighteen people and left one hundred and forty-five missing. Hundreds of search-and-rescue personnel and first responders carefully searching the pancaked rubble for possible signs of life in the debris. But unfortunately, the rescue teams didn’t find a single life since the first hours after the collapse.
Biden said that he believed his government has the strength to pick up a hundred percent of the cost of the search operation and clean up the debris and urged the local administration to turn to Washington for assistance. Further, officials briefed the president along with Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Two senators of the Republican party Rick Scott and Marco Rubio were also there during the briefing.
After meeting with the families, the president met first responders who worked to rescue people under the collapsed building debris. He appreciated their incredible services and efforts to deal with the uncertainty. Biden also offered plentiful thanks to those who are still working at the site. In addition, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sent a team of engineers and scientists to the site and also launched an investigation.
Moreover, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed sixty staff members and additional four hundred personnel across five search-and-rescue teams at the request of local administration. The agency also awarded $20m to the Division of Emergency Management of the state to help deal with the unfortunate emergency.
