SURFSIDE, Fla. -- President Joe Biden on Thursday offered comfort to the grieving and federal support for the efforts to search for the missing and rebuild after last week's collapse of a high-rise condo along the Florida coastline.
Responding to what appeared to be the deadliest calamity of his young presidency, Biden also met with first responders hunting for survivors among the rubble in Surfside. But underscoring the dangers still present in the search, work was halted for about 15 hours before Biden arrived because of concerns about the stability of the section still standing.
The president and his wife, Jill Biden, arrived in Florida a week after the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South beachfront condominium killed at least 18 people and left 145 missing. Hundreds of first responders and search-and-rescue personnel have been painstakingly searching the pancaked rubble for potential signs of life. No one has been rescued since the first hours after the collapse.
"We can do it; just the simple act of everyone doing what needs to be done makes a difference," Biden said.
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The president said he believed the federal government has "the power to pick up 100% of the cost" of the search and cleanup, and urged the local officials to turn to Washington for assistance.
"There's gonna be a lot of pain and anxiety and suffering and even the need for psychological help in the days and months that follow," Biden said. "And so we're not going anywhere."
Biden was briefed with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat, as well as the state's two Republican senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott.
DeSantis said to Biden that the "cooperation has been great," declaring that the administration has "not only been supportive at the federal level, but we've had no bureaucracy."
As Biden pledged federal help and touted the bipartisan nature of the response, he touched DeSantis's hand to underscore the point. "You know what's good about this?" Biden said. "It lets the nation know we can cooperate. That's really important."
Biden then met with first responders who have worked around the clock on a rescue effort that has stretched into its second week amid oppressive heat and humidity and frequent summer storms.
"What you're doing here is incredible, having to deal with the uncertainty," Biden said as he offered profuse thanks.
Rescue efforts resumed Thursday evening
Rescuers left the pile of rubble shortly after 2 a.m. after crews noticed widening cracks and up to a foot of movement in a large column.
"Finding missing loved ones continues to be at the forefront of our operations," Miami-Dade Fire Rescue tweeted soon after search efforts resumed.
The stoppage threatened to keep search teams off the rubble pile and dim hopes for finding anyone alive in the debris.
Officials will work with structural engineers and other experts to "develop options" to continue rescue operations, said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky.
Critical points around the site have been monitored with sensors since the rescue operation began, said Scott Nacheman, a structures specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said there were alarming indications of movement Wednesday night at three locations.
"What was of specific concern was that over the last six days we had not seen that type of significant movement, or in some locations any movement in those elements of the structure," Nacheman said Thursday during a briefing for family members.
Rescuers also use laser devices that can detect shifts of a few millimeters, Cominsky said.
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"We are constantly monitoring the building," he said.
Heavy equipment in the rubble pile caused vibrations, Nacheman said. Rain has also been entering exposed parts of the building, saturating items and adding weight to the floors.
Information for this article was contributed by Terry Spencer, Freida Frisaro and Mark Kennedy of The Associated Press.
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