Mr. President, use Surfside, and Florida, to help make the entire nation a better place | Editorial

It speaks volumes that President Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden will visit Surfside to see firsthand the horrible calamity that has befallen our community, and on what is perhaps the saddest day, hours after two sisters, 4 and 10, were found dead in the rubble.

Mr. President, you will also see that our hearts are broken for those personally devastated by the horrific collapse of the Champlain Towers South a week ago.

More than 140 people remain unaccounted for after the early-morning collapse swallowed more than 35 oceanfront condo units and the people who lived in them.

Brace yourselves. You will be shocked at the scope of the destruction and amazed that something like this could have been allowed to happen. Our community is also baffled.

You will be heartbroken over the grieving of relatives, who for a week now have been waiting to learn the fate of their mothers and fathers and children, their sisters and brothers, uncles, aunts and grandparents.

And you will feel the bone-tired exhaustion of the search-and-rescue teams who have desperately tried to find victims still alive under the mountains of concrete.

Little interruption

We understand your visit will be low-key, as it should be, presidential not political. You are here to comfort, not campaign. Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez guaranteed that the digging will continue.

At least one family has complained they fear search time will be lost because of your visit.We know you plan to meet only with relatives, first responders and local leaders.

But while you’re here, and after you return to the White House, please remember that our tragedy could have implications far beyond our community.

▪ You were wise to launch a federal investigation of the tragedy by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology the day before your arrival. Officials announced Wednesday at an afternoon briefing that they will begin investigating every aspect of the Champlain’s history — from its initial blueprint, construction, modifications, maintenance and even the soil condition underneath.

Wear and tear

We wholeheartedly support this wider probe by the agency that investigated the World Trade Center collapse. But what happened to this 12-story building is a warning for the rest of Florida and the country, especially coastal communities lined with similar oceanfront buildings, many over 40 years old and revealing the wear and tear of time, seaside corrosion and intrusive flooding.

▪ We know you are promoting the American Jobs Plan, your $2 trillion proposal to overhaul the country’s infrastructure, from public transportation, airports, water and power systems as well as broadband improvements.

It’s not just buildings that are crumbling in South Florida. Our roads and bridges need updating, too. The United States has one of the highest road-fatality rates in the industrial world. Mr. President, you must show leadership and keep your promise of compromise between Republicans and Democrats.

▪ If by chance climate change played a role in this collapse, you should turn to us as a tragic example of what can go terribly wrong if we don’t heed nature’s warnings.

We appreciate the caring and compassion implicit in your visit. Don’t let the victims of this tragedy down.