Condo collapse in Florida, Survivors escaped with only their lives.

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Kirti Pathak
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Florida

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Susana Alvarez ran away from her home on the 10th floor of Champlain Towers South, taking just her life and almost little else with her. "I don't have anything," said the 62-year-old survivor of the Miami condominium building collapse. "I left in my pyjamas and with my phone." The accident, which killed at least 18 individuals and left more than 140 others missing, also displaced scores of people. Many cars were also lost and buried in the building's underground parking garage.

Though the majority of those who managed to leave to safety lived in areas of the building that are still standing, they have little hope of returning to collect clothing, computers, jewelry, and sentimental items they left behind. Officials stated Thursday that they are planning to demolish all elements of the building that did not collapse. The declaration came after search and rescue activities had been halted for several hours due to rising indications that the structure was dangerously unstable.

Alvarez is still suffering from the effects of the trauma. She hasn't slept in a bed since the building fell down a week ago. Instead, she's been sleeping in a chair, always thinking about the victims who were unable to flee. The screams from that night are still audible to her. "I lost everything," Alvarez explained, "and it means nothing to me."

Despite this, friends and even strangers have been pitching in to help her replace what she's lost. Her friends, with whom she is staying, have provided her with new clothes and a computer. Even though she never phoned in, an eyewear retailer refilled her prescription. And she obtained the last condo in a 16-unit building that was offered to Surfside survivors rent-free for the month of July.

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