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Search and Rescue Teams Enter Day Six at Site as Hope Dims; Biden Hits the Road to Sell Infrastructure Package; CNN Obtains Letter Detailing Decay at Condo in April 2021. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired June 29, 2021 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Tuesday, June 29th. I'm John Berman live this morning in Surfside, Florida. Erica Hill is with me in New York, and this is day six now of the search and rescue operation at the site of this collapsed condo building, and the death toll is sadly rising. 11 people are now confirmed dead, 150 remain unaccounted for.

Friends, loved ones, members of this beachside community, they're trying to stay strong, trying to stay hopeful. They were at a candlelight vigil last night. Federal, state and local teams are here trying to figure out how this happened.

There is growing concern this morning about the other buildings in the Miami area, frankly all off the coast of Florida. CNN has also learned that residents were facing steep repair costs, $15 million worth following a 2018 report which warned how leaking water was leading to deteriorating concrete.

And just two days before the collapse, a pool contractor spotted what appears to be serious signs of damage in the garage sharing these photos with the Miami Herald.

And joining me now is Sarah Blaskey, the Miami Herald reporter who broke this story. We're looking at these images right now. Sarah, tell me what the contractor told you, what was there?

SARAH BLASKEY, REPORTER, MIAMI HERALD: The contractor said aboveground, everything looked okay, but once you went to the basement, he started noticing things that didn't look right to him. The first thing he noticed was standing water, a lot of it in the garage area, right under that patio deck that we have heard called into question by that 2018 report. And then as he went into the pool equipment room along the south side of the building, he also saw serious corrosion of rebar that had been exposed from cracked concrete in the beams underneath the pool.

And so all of that is sign of some sort of water intrusion, major damage, experts we've talked to said that was very serious. And if that kind of damage existed under the weight of the building itself, that could have been a reason for the collapse. BERMAN: And that's to be clear, what your reporting is what he saw, the worst of it wasn't under the area that collapsed but what is not known is if it was also under that area.

BLASKEY: That's right. And what we understand from that 2018 report is that the tiles on the pool deck actually covered what could have been very damaged concrete slab and we just don't know. The interesting part is the biggest pool of water described by the contractor just two days before the building collapse was right under that slab, right under those papers.

BERMAN: And, look, water is becoming an area of increasing concern. The Washington Post reported this morning, you've got similar reporting, that people who were in the building reported just a lot of water, a lot of flooding, regularly underneath in the garage area, and you know you live on this strip, buildings flood here, there's water in the basements, there's water in the garage areas. This was water all the time, even when it wasn't raining, even when there weren't conditions that should have indicated that.

BLASKEY: That's right. And when I asked the contractor, he didn't know where the water came from, he didn't know if it was from the pool or the sea or rain water that just hadn't evaporated. What I can tell you is that it wasn't raining that hard that day. The flooding is normal but what he said to me is he's been in some scary buildings on the beach, but even then, this one stood out to him for the amount of water.

BERMAN: Well, talk to me more about that then, because we just have so many now points along the way here, where people looked at this and said, this looks different than the types of things I've seen before.

BLASKEY: Well, it's interesting. Did they say that? I don't know that's clear from the 2018 report --

BERMAN: He said that. He said that.

BLASKEY: But he did say that, and that was two days before.

And another thing that came out reported by USA Today last night is that that t2018 report, there was a follow-up email in the condo association saying that things had gotten substantially worse by April of this year. And so that raises a lot of questions, again, about whether those structural slabs or columns right under the pool deck, the area that appears to have collapsed first, according to experts, whether or not that was as bad as what we saw in those photos taken by the contractor just to --

BERMAN: What have you heard from local officials or people connected to the building about this report?

BLASKEY: So, people connected to the building, the person who comes up the most is the former building official for Surfside, Florida. And at first, he said he didn't remember receiving an email of that 2018 report. Then it came out that he had actually met with the condo association, and according to the minutes, had reviewed the report in 2018, and said something along the lines of you have nothing to worry about here, everything is okay. It's unclear why he said that. We don't have answers yet. But we're hoping to get more soon.

BERMAN: Everything that you were told by the contractor, you then put that to building engineers. What did they say was the most concerning thing?

BLASKEY: They said that the water was indicative of something coming down and that could potentially weaken those slabs under the part of the building that collapsed.

[07:05:02]

But something that was also interesting is even that beam on the south side of the building that we see photographed, that damage potentially could have contributed by itself.

The building is asymmetrical, and so anytime anything fails in a structural foundation of a building that's asymmetrical, it can cause the building to twist. And so if that beam failed, it would have put increased pressure on other columns and slabs in the building, and if they were deteriorated, that could have contributed to a collapse.

BERMAN: That's so interesting because a lot people say it may have been a succession of events that started on one place. Terrific reporting, thank you so much for being with us. I appreciate it.

As the search for survivors and victims continues, workers digging a giant trench in the debris, roughly the side of an Olympic swimming pool, although much deeper. Tom Foreman joins us now with a closer look at how this trench, this crucial trench is being used. Tom?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. John, this is a little hard to see here but you'll get a basic idea. If you imagine a big V or flat bottomed V at this end and it runs all the way up here, basically, reportedly, this is at the highest point, about 40 feet deep, about 20 feet across, some 100 feet in length.

What is the reason for this trench to be there? The reasons are many. One, to serve as a fire break to fight all the smoke and fire they have dealt with to limit these two piles instead of one giant one. Two, allow easier access to all the layers. Now they can come at them from different sides here. That helps them get closer with microphones and cameras, and dogs and anything they want to do to try to figure out where people are to help pinpoint potential survivors and, of course, victims in here. And it makes it safer for slabbing and cribbing.

We'll get to cribbing in a moment. Slabbing, you're already seeing a little hint of when you see the very big pieces being lifted away. Make no mistake, every time you lift away a big piece, that is a verycareful calculation because it's shifting the weight and the mass here and they want to make sure in doing so they don't hurt a rescuers or if there's someone under here, they haven't shifted things into a safe space where they might be. Ultimately, the goal is, in slabbing, is to clear a top and then actually lift it away, and then you have a new top, and you work your way down through there, hoping to find people.

And, of course, this is not, when they use this trench, this is not done in some cavalier fashion. It's very carefully calculated to work out with the grids they have in here because they're not simply looking randomly through this to try to find these folks who might be there. They are calculating based on what they know about where people would be. You know they're looking at maps of where bedrooms were, where people might most likely be, and that's what they're trying to work their way toward in the hope maybe somebody might still be alive in there. That has happened in some collapses like this. And as some of the rescuers have said, they are taking just as seriously the job of retrieving those who did not make it. John?

BERMAN: Tom Foreman, as always, thank you so much. This is so helpful, understanding what's going on there. I really appreciate it.

So many skilled rescuers working as hard as they can to find life in this debris. Joining me now is Ricardo Aizenman, he is Vice President of Cadena International, an organization who brought a group of rescue volunteers from Mexico and several other countries.

You have been on the site, you have been working, just give me a sense of how difficult the job is.

RICARDO AIZENMAN, VICE PRESIDENT, CADENA INTERNATIONAL: Well, Cadena International, thank you for having us. We have a team of seven rescuers, volunteers, that are working tirelessly. We got here on Thursday. I'm a neighbor from this building a few blocks away from here. We have our hub here, and we bring people everywhere. We never thought it would be here.

It's been very hard but we do this as a way of life, other than our professional lives. And when we got here, we saw a similar scenario, as we have seen in other countries like Mexico, earthquakes obviously, Haiti, and Turkey. And these situations are tight and very complicated. It's a situation where we try to think and believe there's hope always, and we go for that, and that's how society help. And our rescuers are looking into that every day. We go for shifts every six hours.

BERMAN: You know people? You know people who live in that building?

AIZENMAN: No, I don't know people there, honestly, but I know people that are looking for people, and those people are coming to us, and then asking questions like everyone else, is very concerned about the situation.

BERMAN: What's the hardest part?

AIZENMAN: Going every day in the present and doing our job. We're volunteers. We activate ourselves when there's a need. And there's a crisis today, and we try to be very, very diligent and cooperate with the authorities and following protocols, which is very important. We brought our K-9, Oreo. She has been very helpful with the search and rescue.

BERMAN: Tell me what Oreo does on the pile.

AIZENMAN: She's a dog that does search and rescue.

[07:10:02]

She sense for human scent. And she follows through the air, it goes across, try to find -- make a by barking. And if there's a scent, we go and try to find something. If she doesn't, then she'll go back.

BERMAN: Have there been any moments of hope with Oreo?

AIZENMAN: Always. There's always moments of hope with Oreo, and others. They're rescuers. We have a mix of rescue, first responders with the K-9. We have a machine which is a life locator, and it's similar to sonar that looks inside for 40 feet so we can see the heart beats. Unfortunately, we haven't so far.

BERMAN: Haven't seen anything. And I understand Oreo is sleeping. We talk about how exhausting this work is for humans and like you. How tired is Oreo right now?

AIZENMAN: Oreo, he's a young dog. He has a year-and-a-half, so he has a lot of energy. So she likes, even though she's working hard and the climate conditions are pretty humid and pretty warm, we keep her under the air-conditioning. So she rests but she also likes to play with other dogs while she's not working. So, she has to go for a run.

BERMAN: I understand she was on call until 3:00 A.M.

AIZENMAN: Yes. 3:00 A.M. was the last shift, and we're coming back at 12:00 to continue. There are other teams there.

BERMAN: I appreciate your help.

AIZENMAN: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: Please know we're thinking of you. We know how hard this is. We know what you want more than anything, is some kind of success, some sign of life.

AIZENMAN: So, definitely hand in hand for the society, and coming all together, we believe there's faith, all the Jewish communities we represent, and everyone inclusive to this situation, we're all there. Thank you so much for having us.

BERMAN: Thank you so much for everything you're doing.

Still ahead, CNN gets exclusive access as neighboring towns move fast to inspect these high-rise condos for any signs of damage.

ERICA HILL, CNN NEW DAY: Also, the White House rushing to save the infrastructure deal after President Biden's blunders. So just where does it stand this morning? Well, we'll speak with someone from the White House live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:15:00]

HILL: President Biden is taking his bipartisan infrastructure deal on the road, traveling to Wisconsin today. The agreement reached last week, though, is still tenuous to say the least. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warning Democrats to back off their plans to link the bipartisan deal to a larger bill filled with their priorities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): What I did this morning is to call on the president to ask the majority leader and the speaker to deal with these issues separately, to deal with them separately. That's the way the deal was negotiated according to the ten Republicans, I can assure you, who were in the discussion, there was no agreement that they would be linked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining me now is energy secretary and a member of President Biden's jobs cabinet, Jennifer Granholm. Secretary, good to see you with us this morning.

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, ENERGY SECRETARY: Great to be here.

HILL: So, to that point, is the infrastructure tied to a second bill, yes or no?

GRANHOLM: No, he wants both bills, as he said, and he's going to campaign for both bills, but he did not issue or he wanted to make clear he wasn't issuing a veto threat. What he really wants is for people to understand how incredibly historic this bipartisan infrastructure framework is. It is going to be the biggest investment in rail since the start of Amtrak.

It's the biggest investment in repairing roads and bridges, we have got 46,000 bridges that are in bad condition, the biggest infrastructure investment in transmission grid, which ass secretary of energy, I'm really interested in making sure we have, the biggest investment in water, in making sure that kids in schools don't have lead pipes. This is Democrats and Republicans all agree, and that's really the president's traveling to Wisconsin today, a number of us are out on the road because we want to make sure that everybody understands what's in this bill because it's so great for America.

HILL: There is, though -- I mean, the mixed messaging was a bit of a setback over the weekend. Do you think it was a blunder on the part of the president?

GRANHOLM: Well, the president cleared up what he meant on Saturday, and as you heard on Sunday, a number of the Republicans who were in as part of that deal felt like that was sufficient to be able to calm the waters, I think, as Senator Romney said.

HILL: What you just heard though from Mitch McConnell, are you concerned at all that this was sort of a gift in some ways to the GOP?

GRANHOLM: Well, what's a gift is a gift to the American people that we have a bipartisan framework. It's a gift to the nation that we send a message across the world that actually, you know what, democracy works, we can get things done.

So, you know, the president really does not want this to be bogged down in process and in partisanship. What he wants to do is deliver with his allies on the right and the left something for the American people. I hope that's the message that -- whether it's Mitch McConnell or anybody else takes away is this is about the people. It's not about this political process.

HILL: So, in terms of that political process though, Speaker Pelosi has actually vowed to hold it up. So, until the Senate approves this larger bill to hold things up, and that has some moderate Democrats telling my colleagues at CNN up on the Hill, that they are concerned about what this could do.

GRANHOLM: The second bill hasn't even been negotiated yet. So, first bill has been negotiated. That's got to get into the process, et cetera. The president is fighting for both. He wants his American families plan, which is the second part. He wants the climate pieces, the climate agenda that wasn't in the first part to be in that second part. But it hasn't been negotiated yet. People are focused on the first part.

So, let's get that through. These are two bills. He's fighting for both.

HILL: So, in terms of that first part, how are conversations, right, since the president's announcement? How many Democrats do you officially have on board?

GRANHOLM: Well, I think our Democratic team, I think, will be together because they see the importance of this for people and for our competitiveness. I mean, yesterday, in fact --

HILL: So you think you'll have all Democratic senators?

GRANHOLM: We hope so. I mean, the people who were at the negotiating table were really thinking about the broader importance and know that it's not -- it's the first step that there has to be a second step, and that Democrat will fight for the second step too.

[07:20:03]

But this is a first step. Let's take that step, and then we'll take the second step. And whether the Republicans join us on the second step or not, that's certainly up to them. But we want to make sure we get this full agenda through so that the country can compete in the 21st century.

HILL: To your point there, I know there's more that you would have liked to have seen in the bill when it comes to climate, the president in an op-ed on Monday saying that he would have liked more in there, that there wasn't quite as much as he would have liked.

GRANHOLM: Yes.

HILL: How concerning -- I mean, concerning is that for you moving forward, because it's a lot that you're going to try to put in potentially a second bill?

GRANHOLM: Yes. There is no doubt that we need the investment for our nation in getting to 100 percent clean electricity. I mean, we're here in New York, and it's going to be 97 degrees today, and I know you don't always equate weather with climate change necessarily. But what's happening on the west coast, I mean, these cascading, record- breaking weather events are only going to accelerate.

So, the point is we've got to do our part in our country to get on clean energy so that we don't continue to exacerbate climate change. It is an existential issue. So, yes, that has to be addressed, and, yes, that will be addressed in the second piece. But I'm confident that the Democrats are very determined to get both pieces through and at least the Republicans that we negotiated with on the infrastructure side are determined to get the first part through, so let's do this.

HILL: In terms of climate, you brought up what's happening, what we're seeing in the Pacific Northwest. We have been talking a lot about what happened in Florida at the Surfside condominium building that collapsed. We don't know exactly what happened at this point. But given what we know about the changing climate, given that we have seen an increase in the so-called extraordinary tides and the impact that that can have in areas like South Florida, do you think that climate could have played a role in that building's collapse?

GRANHOLM: Well, obviously, we don't know fully, but we do know that the seas are rising. I mean, we know that we're losing inches and inches of beaches, not just in Florida but all around. You know, Lake Michigan, where I'm from, you know, we've seen the loss of beaches because the waters are rising.

So, you know, this is a phenomenon that will continue, we'll have to wait to see what the analysis is for this building. But the issue about resiliency and making sure we adapt to this changing climate, that's going to mean levees need to be built, that means sea walls need to be built, that means infrastructure needs to be built.

We need to make sure that we invest enough in clearing out the forest so we don't have these weather events. We need to invest in hardening transmission lines, maybe burying wires so that we can protect areas that are like tinderbox dry. There's so much investment that we need to do to protect ourselves from climate change, but also address it and mitigate it. And, hopefully, these infrastructure bills, when taken together, will take a huge step and allow America to lead again.

HILL: Secretary Granholm, good to have you with us this morning.

GRANHOLM: Thanks so much.

HILL: Thank you John?

BERMAN: All right. Breaking news back here in Surfside, CNN has just obtained a recent letter from the condo board for the building that collapsed warning of a, quote, accelerating deterioration of the building. Stand by for much more on this breaking news, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

BERMAN: All right, breaking news, we're getting a clearer picture this morning of the severity of the damage to the condo tower here in Surfside, Florida, prior to its collapse and the urgent need for repairs. CNN has just obtained a letter sent to residents in April of this year. The Champlain Towers South board president wrote, quote, the observable damage, such as in the garage, has gotten significantly worse since the initial inspection in 2018. The concrete deterioration is accelerating. The roof situation got much worse, so extensive roof repairs had to be incorporated. The letter seeks to explain a $15 million price tag for repairs, much higher than the initial scope of the 2018 work estimate.

Joining us now is Rick De La Guardia, he's an engineer with experience in forensic investigation. Rick, thank you so much for being with us. This letter was from April, just a couple of months ago.

RICK DE LA GUARDIA, ENGINEER WITH EXPERIENCE IN FORENSIC INVESTIGATION: It's eye opening, and I think it's on point, contrary to other reports that I have heard of the condition of the building, it really understands -- and I haven't read the entire letter, but it really has a good understanding of the condition of the building and kind of saying that it's in dire straits.

BERMAN: On point, how? What specifically jumps out from the letter and how does that overlay with the other things you have seen?

DE LA GUARDIA: Well, it mentions that there's additional, more damage, more damage than initially in 2018 when the engineer -- it's understandable because it's been several years since the report was done. And the engineer warned of that. He warned that if we don't take care of this right away, it will exasperate, and that's what appears to have occurred.

BERMAN: The kind of damage they first spotted in 2018 exacerbated by April of 2021, now, according to this letter, what kind of threat does it pose to building like that?

DE LA GUARDIA: Well, the biggest key is you have to have normal maintenance. You can't just wait for the 40-year recertification to do your repairs. And I believe the board president said this at the time. She said this needed to have been done sooner and quite more often and not waited this long. I believe that was stated in the letter. So, the key is proper ongoing maintenance may have prevented this.

BERMAN: And if you don't do that, then what is the immediate acute threat that that could cause to maybe the columns, maybe the foundation?

DE LA GUARDIA: Yes. Unfortunately, the more and more time goes by, the more and more the structure is weakened. In my opinion, the report -- the 2018 report wasn't the alarming report that some people are making it out to be, but certainly from 2018 to now, conditions could have occurred that exasperated to put it in dire straits.

[07:30:05]

BERMAN: Well, that's the thing. I mean, in 2018, it was bad. They said it needed repairs.