NIST Finds Surfside Collapse Traced to Weeks of Distress Before Fall

A final NIST report says the Surfside Champlain Towers South collapse began weeks before it fell, when two garage-to-pool-deck connections started failing around early June. The building’s design did not meet code, later alterations and long‑term corrosion further reduced margins against failure, contributing to a slow, deadly collapse that killed 98 people and spurred settlements and Florida maintenance-law changes for condo associations.