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Fires, shifting materials, Twisted Steel and water up to their waist at some points. Yeah, theyre searching for people in there. Theyre searching for mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters, children. Officials say they have heard sounds from underneath the debris. They are not confirming exactly what those sounds are. They said it is very possible the debris moving, metal, concrete, et cetera. But, with that news, Family Members are doing their best to hold on to hope. There is hope. Its just dwindling by the minute. There is a certain hope in the air but it is a very strange kind of a feeling. Ive rarely had this feeling except in the war zone. Were dealing day by day, theyre now finding more and more people and i hope and pray theyre found soon and everything is good. Those poor, poor people. Officials say that President Biden has been receiving updates on this. Hes expected to address the tragedy there later today at the white house. We dont know yet if he will then go on to visit the site. We are following several angles of the story this morning. Rosa flores is the at site of the collapse and Nick Valencia is at the Community Center and rosa lets begin with you. A little bit of hope when we hear rescuers say they do hear sounds. They do say it is likely sounds of the structure. Have you learned anything new this morning on the progress of that search . Reporter you know, jim, what were learning is about the painstaking work that these firefighters are doing. And this partially collapsed structure that is behind me, were learning from officials that these firefighters are working in 15minute increments, theyre caring about 80 pounds of gear. They are crawling through some of these tunnels that they are creating to try to get to those sounds that you were talking about. Now to do that, they have to shore up these areas. Theyre working with Structural Engineers and they have doctors with them were learned. Why . Because they want to make sure if they do find an individual, they could provide medical care as soon as possible. Were also learning about some of the challenges that theyve been facing overnight. I was here at 10 00 last night, it started pouring. This morning, same thing. Weve had multiple showers and then gusts of wind. Those are factors that complicate this search. It adds more water to the structure, which adds more weight. It also, when were talking about winds, when you see the pictures of these this partially collapsed building, youll see there are pieces of concrete that are still dangling, mangled rebar. And so it complicates this search to a level that is very concerning and very dangerous. Some of the Public Officials here talked to us about that. Take a listen. We have hope. And every time that we hear sound, we concentrate in that area. So we send additional teams utilizing the devices, utilizing k9 and personnel. So as we continue to hear the sounds we concentrate in those areas. When was last time you heard sound out there. Throughout the night. This is been done at extreme risk to these individuals. Debris is falling on them as they do their work. We have Structural Engineers on site to assure that they will not be injured. But they are proceeding because they are so motivated and they are taking extraordinary risk. Reporter jim and poppy, it is important to note that the members of the miamidade Fire Rescue Task one force, these people have traveled the world responding to disasters like this one. This time and for the first time weve learned that this time it is at home. It is here in their own backyard that theyre having to sift through the rubble hoping to find life. Jim and poppy. Rosa flores, thank you for your reporting. I know youll stay close with more information. But many of the families of the 159 people that they still could not account for, say they are holding on to some hope that their loved one may be alive. And then im hopeful, but then time night comes, yesterday at night the rain and you start thinking if they are alive down there, what is going on, how how are they in there. Is there a possibility that theyre alive . Truthfully, look at this mess. I mean, what are the chances . Nick valencia is at the surfside Community Center where many familiars are gathering. And nick, i wonder in times like this, how do families keep it together. Poppy talked to a daughter in the last hour. I imagine myself in the same situation and frankly cant imagine it. So what are the families telling you now and what are they being told . We wanted to you hear directly from them this morning, jim and poppy. Which is why i want to bring in abigail. Her two friends and i want to get this andres and fabio, 45 and 43yearold along with their 6yearold daughter, sofia nunes are reported missing according to abigail. They had fled argentina because of the coronavirus pandemic there to arrive in miami and had been here for the last several months. Abigail was telling me here a short time ago that it was the night of, right before the collapse happened, about 9 00, 10 00, they went into an apartment of a friend and it was at 1 00 that she got the message. Abigail only speaks spanish so im going to try my best to translate. How are you . She said theyre not getting information. She wanted hard information. Reliable information. Theyre not getting it right now. What are they telling you . [ speaking Foreign Language ] she said they give say number for you inside but not giving you any information when you call that number. She said and res was a surgeon and humble and generous man. They come here fleeing the coronavirus pandemic in argentina in their native country. Are you sure they were inside . Apartment 803. She said shes really worried about the 6yearold sofia, that if you get any information, if possible, she wants to be clear to show the photo in case anyone out there, any Emergency Responders could see [ speaking Foreign Language ] she said she decided to do this interview because if there is anyone in the hospital who has seen these two and their daughter, if there is any one of the First Responders that have come across them, please get in contact with her. One more question. Do you still have hope . [ speaking Foreign Language ] she said hope is the last thing that you lose in this situation and for right knew she still has it. Abigail, thank you very much. As could you tell, it is a very emotional scene here this morning, jim and poppy. Theyre not getting much information from what abigail tells me. They spent the last 24 hours, it is a tireless last 24 hours for the Family Members who are just trying to get any ounce of information. But the one thing that they are holding out for is hope and until they get firm and reliable information of what is happened, to those that remain unaccounted for, theyre going to cling to that hope. Jim and poppy. That poor family, that poor little girl. Nick valencia, thank you so much. And that is one of dozens of families now waiting for news. President biden is expected to speak today about the ongoing Search And Rescue efforts at the Building Collapse. Overnight the president authorized an Emergency Declaration following discu discussions between the white house and ron desantis. Lets go to the white house. The president has been very clear, fema will do whatever you need and i believe hes going to address all of this later this afternoon. What could you tell us . Reporter well, poppy, this is one of those moments where from the president on down, everyone feels a sense on a human level of helplessness about the plight of those families. But the one thing a president ial administration can do is authorize the resources through fema, yesterday the president said that as of late in the afternoon, he had not spoken to Florida Governor desantis, was waiting for that contact. That contact came later in the evening. And he did overnight authorize Emergency Assistance through fema. And so what that means is teams on ground, it means direct cash, Financial Assistance over the longer term, it will mean Loan Assistance and all sorts of logistical help that fema could help coordinate through state and local authorities. And we also expect for the president to speak on this later today. Hes going to be meeting with the afghan president at the oval office. We expect to see him before cameras and you could expect him either at that moment or separately to address this tragedy. And of course, the expression of grief and empathy is something that joe biden is very familiar with and something that he is displayed throughout the tragedies that hes suffered in his life and that he has experienced as a public official on behalf of constituents, so yes, well hear from him later today. John harwood, thanks so much. Well bring you the comments as they happen. Stay with cnn as we follow this Breaking News. This sad news. Near miami. At least four deaths now confirmed, of course sadly 159 people remain unaccounted for in that Building Collapse. Key question, what could have caused this . How could this happen in the 21st Century America. Were going to speak live with an architect next. Also the Building Collapse now an international incident. Many families from Latin America among the missing. Well have the latest. 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Its our nature. 1 2 3 4 and i never turn it down aw aw no and i never turn it down oh no and i never turn it down pushing it down making it out taking it now oh love and i never turn it down pushing it down making it out taking it now making it out oh love more protection, more sun, more joy. Neutrogena® beach defense® the suncare brand used most by dermatologists and their families, neutrogena® for people with skin. [lazer beam and sizzling sounds] were continuing to follow the tragic Breaking News in the search for survivors in the Condominium Collapse in surfside, florida. Tina paul joins me this morning, Madam Vice Mayor im deeply sorry and i know our words cannot do much, but is there any update. The last we heard is 159 still unaccounted for. That is correct. That is last update that i have received as well. I raced over here to get to the meeting and i passed by a lot of media and people waiting around the Community Center which is across the street from us. This is a really tight community. I mean weve heard from so many people from your community Yesterday And Today and i wonder about you. Are you personally impacted . Do you know anyone who may have been in the building . Thank you, poppy. I am personally impacted in that i know two people that escaped from the building, one is a former commissioner who i served with for four years previously and his wife. And there are two couples that are still unaccounted for that i know from the community that ive known for serve years. Even if i dont know the people, theyre my community so it matters. Weve heard from families holding out hope that a loved one is alive and it is possible, there are voids that have been formed an some space that weve seen First Responders crawling through to try to access anyone who may be alive. What is the best way for them to get answers, because there are some frustration among some and there is no criticism but theyre wondering where to go and who to call. Right. And i think, if they call us, well get the information to them. Ive had people call me independently and ive put theyre names on list that we have collected of the people that are still unaccounted for. And we will find the information for them as best we can. Ive been companies have reached out to me with equipment they want to donate for us to help with the excavation. We have equipment brought in yesterday from one of those sources and there are two other sources that have reached out to me. There is a team from mexico that is also trying to work at the site but they have to go through the proper channels with the Miamidade County and such. And i said if there is anything we can do to help them, if they need authorization from us, were willing to do that. Well put that number on the screen. That people can call. But again it is 3056141819 or they could go to i believe it is miamidade. Gov emergency. You told vice mayor the Washington Post that this collapse came a day after this building passed inspection. Is that correct . And what kind of inspection . Full structural down to the Foundation Inspection . No. What i had said was what was told to me is they had passed the roof inspection. That is what i was aware of prior to learning they were undergoing the 40year certification which is not unusual. That is what condos have to do when they reach that age. So, you know, i was told they passed a roof inspection. I knew the roof work was going on. That is the only work i was aware of because we h received a complaint from one of the missing couples that it was being brought up right by their windows and the smell was overwhelming for them even with the Windows Closed and we were trying to work with the have our Building Official work with the site to see where they could reelect tar so it wouldnt be so close to them. The New York Times this morning is reporting that in 2015 one of the residents of the building filed a lawsuit alleging poor maintenance of the building and structural concerns. Do you have any im not asking you to weigh in on that lawsuit. But do you have any sense of the maintenance of this building from a structural standpoint . Unfortunately, i dont. I didnt receive any complaints from the building other than about the tar issue which was about a month or two ago. So i wasnt aware of a lawsuit there. But i wouldnt be. That is something between the bui building and the resident who filed it. And if we could, on the extraordinary work that weve seen, an control room if youre able to pull up the harrowing video of the First Responders wading through water between the floors here of the collapsed building. You could speak to the work theyre doing and every step they take puts them in more danger but they continue . That is what 2they do. And it is quite amazing and extraordinary. And i know our staff has been working around the clock. Our public works director has been out there. He was out there last night operating a lot of the equipment that was brought in and assisting. And that is just what they do. And im grateful for that. And the issue is that it is delicate because the structure is partially collapsed so you still have part of it standing and we dont know how safe that is. That is why the hotel across the way was evacuated as well. So at our Community Center we had two groups of people. We had hotel guests that were trying to go back home and some were still on vacation and we had the residents of the building, which is, you know, more critical because theyve lost their homes. And their Family Members. Well vice mayor of surfside, florida, tina paul, thank you for your time, i know you are extraordinarily busy so we appreciate you giving us some of those updates. Thank you, poppy. Im happy to help. Moments ago the Florida Governor ron desantis spoke about the situation in surfside and calls now for federal help. I was able to speak yesterday with fema director dean chriswell and they are great. Theyved some Emergency Assistance so obviously the Search And Rescue is the primary. Any lives, theyre trying to save lives and that is clearly the most important thing. We also have a number of people that have been displaced, theyre never going back. The people that got out will never go back and live in that building of course. So some of them have lost everything that they have. Still ahead, several families from Latin America are among those missing in the Building Collapse. A moment ago we spoke to a family from argentina. A live report on the International Impact of this horrible trag

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