for building stability. it was based on the experts of structural engineers. 6 to 12 inches of movement in a large column hanging from the structure that could fall and cause damage in the garage area. a major letdown for families still with hope their loved ones will be found alive. 18 people now confirmed dead and two young discovered yesterday were siblings. two sisters, a 10-year-old and 4-year-old. more search and rescue teams are coming from other states and more boots on the ground as probable storm elsa could hit south florida next week. today is day eight of the search for survivors, one week to the day since half of surfside s 12 story champlain towers south pan caked to the ground. convoys of trucks have been leaving with did disaster zone with rubble and steel and
him. all of this at a time when the count remains 18 dead and 145 still unaccounted for. all of this in the wake of a storm that is miles off the florida coast and posing a potential threat to the rescue efforts. welcome, everybody. i m neil cavuto, this is your world. a busy hour ahead. we ll be hearing from president biden shortly and his trip to this area. he couldn t get as close as he wanted to because of the tenuous nature and overall safety issues at the site. let s go to phil keating in surfside with more. phil? neil, president biden and the first lady left washington flying in here early this morning marking one week to the day that half of surfside s champlain towers south condo building plummeted, pancaked down to the grounds. happened at 1:30 a.m. and most of the residents were, as you imagined, sleeping. the first thing the presidential motorcade did is arrived 12
time i went down there was a new manager, always somebody new like what happened to what s his name? you know? what happened to what s his name? what do you mean? i mean, when you go down and you see somebody who you know and then you come back and you vaguely remember who the guy was. so you just used to kid around and say i ll never forget what s his name. got it, got it. now i get what you re saying. one quick question before you go. do you think that other folks, other buildings in the area should be concerned about or do you think this was specific just to that building? i really don t know. i would think because there was three champlain tower buildings and they were all built around the same time, i ve never been in any of these other buildings. i mean, from the outside they seem to be it was more it was up to date than what we had. but i couldn t tell. i mean, i never went inside these buildings. from the outside, there was more
be, then the line went dead. we know that the deck floor or deck the pool deck or the garage roof caved in first. that seems to be agreed to at least by a couple of eyewitnesses. reporter: engineers who study building collapse say the eyewitness accounts will be crucial in determining where the initial failure occurred and where investigators should begin to search for answers, which professor sesani says is that collapsing garage and pool structure. as it goes down, it could have pulled the columns that were already damaged. reporter: engineers are quick to point out it is too early to conclude anything. but years of deferred maintenance and repairs left the building support system in need of extensive renovations. champlain towers south had been on notice since 2018 of major
the underground garage, an area inspectors said needed repairs years earlier. a 2018 inspection report warning the pool slab right above the garage had major structural damage. the couple said they were on the pool deck of the hotel next door last thursday when she heard a loud crash. she says she became alarmed when their building shook and she say pieces of concrete on the ground. she told roberto the tower would collapse. i never thought that it really was going to collapse because in america, that never happen before. i said don t worry about it. it s not going to collapse. reporter: the couple watched as champlain residents rushed to the balconies. she and roberto scrambled into the street to wave to residents to evacuate. the couple has trouble recalling what happened next remembering only flashes. dust and then glass drop and