I think it's kind and unreasonably hopeful of the press, and rescuers, to keep saying "over 150 unaccounted for, " in Surfside. I think we know where they are. When a 12 story stack of massive concrete slabs comes pancaking down on you, you're probably not surviving. The four survivors were miracles, really. And while it's true there could be voids in the basement parking garage, how many people are in their parking garage on a weekday night at 130 am?
Emily Dickinson had it right. Hope is the thing with feathers.
So much for “ thoughts and prayers”.
Some don't find those to be much use, but YMMV. Strongly enforced building codes and frequent inspections by structural engineers (with continued business operation contingent on prompt repairs) might be a good thing to pray for, however. Also, generally, zoning laws putting occupied structures farther from shorelines most prone to saltwater infiltration below grade (though that appears not to be a factor in this particular tragedy).
Like Kid, I wondered about the figures on survivors. I think Oilcan is not referring to those who were in the area that the tower tore away from, who were left perched at the edges of precipices created by the shearing off of the collapsed portion. There were indeed more than four survivors in those areas. I am not sure where the figure of 4 comes from, but I assume refers to a lucky few who were on a top floor and "rode it down" in some area that remained a void. I know that a teen boy survived in this way, but haven't heard if others did.
I think the story hits many of us in a hard and disturbing way, if we've lived in medium-rise or high-rise apartments at some point in our lives, or had family members or friends who did. I remember when my father (then widowed) moved into a co-op condo in an 8 story building that had some similarities to the Surfside towers. As someone who can find the creaks of an old two-storey house a bit unsettling, I had to admire his insouciance on the seventh floor.
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