Surviving Surfside: Year One 

That ladys story who lost her son and husbands story really just touched me. I think her story is horrific. I admire her so much for you being able to function I’d be so angry at everybody. Wow I respect her so much

The fact that she has to go through Mother's Day, Valentines Day, Anniversaries and Birthdays without her son and husband is just hurting my heart. This situation is toooo tragic. I can't express the sadness I feel for all these victims and their surviving families.

Alfredo's wife and Lorenzo's mother is a beautiful woman. I pray for her healing. I just cry watching her. I cry for all the families.

I never cried so hard for people I never even met. Nothing I say or do can make it better. Hugs and prayers to everyone who knew the precious 98 n the survivors

I am obsessed with disaster documentaries and books, probably due to my own trauma. I have seen hundreds or more. This is the most thoughtful, compassionate, and personal documentary I have seen. There was no agenda here, just a successful attempt at letting each person's memories, grief, and experiences shine. This is how it's done, and I am thankful to the production team and to the family members who allowed us to see such a beautiful and honest portrayal of their loss. My heart goes out to them and I wish them all the best. ❤

I have a Almost 6 yr old & I just couldn’t imagine. God bless this lady that lost her husband & son

Tali sounds like me. I cannot deal with trauma. Never been through her level of devastation, but her reaction so mirrors my own in horrible situations. People say people like us are hyper-sensitive. Probably why I'm crying while listening to these stories...

Thank you to this journalist for conducting these interviews with empathy and sensitivity.

This is so absolutely gut wrenching.

This collapse was entirely preventable. The board that felt a cosmetic lobby remodel was way more important than structural damage the signs of which were obvious to any structural engineer

Cried so many times, we will never forget 💔

🥺 The Spiegl family , i feel it! We lost my father, my mom has never ever ever remarried or dated she is absolutely so devastatingly lonely. Shes so beautiful and classy and such a great fun woman and recently started bringing home, homeless people to help care for them cos she is so lonely 🥴

Wow. I am currently vacationing in Miami with my husband and our hotel is right next to the site. Our balcony is facing right into the empty land. I decided to watch this on the balcony tonight…this is so heartbreaking. Prayers to the surviving families and to those 98 loss. 😢I can’t even begin to imagine the pain…

Remembering all those who lost loved ones at Surfside in prayer. 🙏

I’ve thought about this lady so often. She lost everything that was important to her, and I have been wondering about her. I cannot fathom what she goes thru everyday when she wakes up and she’s alone. I’m very sad for her.

We also want the people who let this happen be held accountable. Who was in charge of inspections and simply felt no responsibility

Kindness is everything. We need to be kind to ourselves and each other.

Negligent people caused the death of almost 100 people that did not deserve this fate. This must be so difficult to take on for these families. I cannot imagine the pain.

And at first, family and loved ones were offered $700,000 as a settlement for their loss, when most condos were worth 900,000 to 1 million dollars. All of them, obviously, said NO. Finally, families sued, and SECURITAS paid 555,000 in damages, which was the most paid from an unnamed defendant and named defendants in the lawsuit. More than 30 different people and agencies, plus the empty plot of land where Champlain Towers stood, it's brought each family several million out of a total of 1.02 billion dollars settlement. Money can't bring loved ones back, but everyone involved with the collapse need to be held accountable for this tragedy.

Losing your husband and son is absolutely heartbreaking. This lady is so strong and I can only hope she has brighter days ahead. I lost a child and that broke me, I can’t imagine losing her husband and son and home all at once. I wish her and everyone who lost someone nothing but healing, fond memories of their loved ones, peace, and hopefully some bright days ahead.

I'm still grieving for all these people effected in this terrible tragedy. I wish you all well everyday 🙏

I’ve never cried so hard for people I did not know. My heart aches for all of them. I’m so sorry for every loss. 🙏🏾

I’m grateful for the story a year later because I have been thinking of them. These poor families. So many countless lives were affected.

I feel their pain. It took me 6 yrs to get over the Great pain I felt after my husband died. I was 29 years old at the time. Sure there was pain after the 6 years, but it wasn't so great, every minute of every day. I feel I began to live again, like he Wanted me to and told me to. It just wasn't as hard and it did get better to live as time goes on.

This causes me to reexamine my options of tragedy. It cuts deeper than what I had imagined.

May those 98 people R.I.P..AND I WISH Jonah and Devon are full recovery. May Edgar r.i.p.

Thank you for telling your story. It shows the world what really matters in this man made disaster. Your story and your memory are proof that nothing is more important than the victims. Thanks for tell me you story. Thank you.

All possible love goes out to all the people who lost someone in this tragedy. My heart goes out to you.

God bless these people and God rest the souls of their loved ones.

I'm so surprised this video did not show up on my YT until now. This documentary is so important, we should never forget what happened.

For a month I was glued to my computer....waiting....hoping.. praying....checking for updates...looking at pics of the missing....looking at pics of the ones that were found...day after day...hour after hour...minute after minute. And every time there was an update and my heart broke when it was another person found....and I cried each time...reading the names...and asking God WHY did this have to happen. This tragedy still haunts me today...every time I see the name Surfside....my heart skips a beat. I cannot even begin to imagine how haunted the survivors and the families that lost loved ones are. RIP to all the victims and many prayers for their families and prayers for the survivors. For all of us that watched from a distance...our lives went on after this was over...for them...life was forever changed.

You never just “get over it” The pain is always there. These people did not deserve this. No amount of money will bring them back. PTSD is now going to be their lifelong struggle. I hope that the builder, the building owners, and the city pay for these lives. Money won't bring them back but large amounts of money paid out will remind them of this tragedy that was totally preventable. I'm so sorry for these people.

Wow! Bravo to CBS. And the journalist who told this story. You can tell he’s able to relate to their pain through his thoughtful yet compassionate questions. He must have gone through pain and loss himself as well. My heart goes out to all the families and the victims of this horrible tragedy.

OMG …. So very tragic … pure heartbreak

It is in my opinion criminally negligent to have not maintained the building. The powers that be may claim they didn't know, but even though I'm not an expert I could see there were issues before the collapse. Money won't bring back the dead, but I think the survivors deserve more.

Children should never feel they can’t cry because of what it may do to parents or anyone else! Even adult children need to let out their pain and experience their grief. It is a pop off valve for the spirit and soul of a person even their nervous system cannot maintain without experiencing what they are feeling. I feel so sad for the victims of Surfside. Those that lived and those that died and those that were injured so severely either mentally physically or both! God bless you all and keep you. It just breaks my heart. I watched everyday praying for survivors but always feeling inside that this was just too much for a body to withstand. God bless you all!

Extremely heart wrenching! Prayers for everyone involved with this tragedy. I watched all the news coverage when this happened. RIP to those lost. Deepest condolences to those who have survived & others affected by this senseless loss.

Gut wrenching to watch this entire series. Couldn't stop myself from crying. I can feel their pain through these interviews. I can not fathom💔😭 I always wondered what happened to each of the families & wanted to know their stories. Although, it's not all of them in these interviews...I want to say thank u for sharing ur story even if it's painful😢 Nothing will ever be same💔

Thank you for your report.. “ May Ricky’s Rovirosa memory be a blessing” forever in my heart 🌹🌟💫

Both these reports have been very moving. I appreciate the family’s sharing with the public. The sudden and horrific manner in which their loved ones died, it’s understandable that their deaths would haunt them. It was largely preventable and caused by inaction on many people’s parts. I’m puzzled as to why the engineers and the city didn’t ring the alarm bells. There were others, such as the guy who maintained the pool operations, who saw the deterioration and said something. Also, the residents voted against increased building maintenance and HOA increases. It’s understandable since they were hit by years of negligence. Yet, it’s something that cannot be avoided. Hopefully, the new laws will obligate boards and owners to do regular maintenance and repairs, and also empower municipalities and licensed engineers and others to report necessary repairs because ongoing shifting of responsibility and postponing what needs to be done is no longer an option. I hope in my deepest heart of hearts that the families and loved ones find peace in their hearts.

That Rabbi is amazing.

Such strong people, and so many seizing the opportunity to create positive change. To the beautiful lady that lost her husband and son: shine on! Keep doing things like seeing Paul McCartney, that is what they would want and I'm sure they are seeing John Lennon together. Shine on and on..

Well done, thank you!

This is so sad and moving. I think Jim has done an excellent piece of work talking to these broken and grieving people. My heartfelt prayers to you all for your lost one’s and you xx

Lorenzo’s Mom has me crying once again, like I did when the building originally collapsed. I’m so very sorry for your loss. I’m glad they found your husband and son together! It should tell you Dad was protecting Lorenzo to the end!

The money won’t bring their loved ones but it will help to pay for a new home and start to rebuild their lives

Another video talked about how they still require those residents to keep paying their mortgage. Disgusting.

The best way to honor the lives of these beautiful people that died that day, is to let you're human spirit uplift itself. It will and may take years. You will have good and bad, horrible even, days. You're loved ones would never want you to be in constant pain and grief, all the time. They would want you to embrace life , and move forward little by little. You will never forget them, you will just honor them, living and fighting, striving to be hopeful, remembering the wonderful times you had with them. God bless you all

To the parents of Elon, your son was 21. At that age a kid is going to do what they want. It’s not your fault. Even if you demanded him to come home, I really doubt he would have. At least you weren’t in a argument with him in his last minutes of his life. He knew you loved him.❤

It’s heartbreaking! All my prayers to the family that lost their loved ones ❤️

5:03 that hug speaks louder than any words they could have spoken in that moment. You don’t need words when you have a love like that. 🥺💔

This thing just guts me. I wish I could give them all a hug. I just can't imagine. They did everything right. This was a luxury building.

so so tragic I have no words thoughts and prayers for all these poor families

This collapsed was Horrific and I spent so much of my summer constantly thinking about all the lost souls and keeping up with the recoveries. The recovery process was so important to me! I was truly impressed with how the Mayor and officials came together and handled this disaster. It was done with Dignity and Grace!

Did Nicole and Cassie know each other? They were both very beautiful. RIP to everyone who lost their life in this tragedy.

I feel so cowardly. I started to watch this video and had to stop. It is just too unbearable. I could not watch and yet these poor souls live it every minute. May God and Christ grant them mercy and grace.

I had to cut it off…I can feel ALL the hurt from these people..God bless them forever

Praying for all these families who lost their loved ones🙏🏻

I remember just a few months after this happened watching an interview and this lady that lived there she lost her whole family and she had to move in with her parents because she was still being forced to pay her mortgage still every month even tho it was not even there iv often wondered what happened with her so i come back from time to time just looking for up dats on the survivor and new no in there and here it is January the 3rd 2023 and i still pray for those families all the way here in Arkansas.

These 2 need to pull it together for their daughter

All this loss and pain and to think the survivors are still responsible for the mortgage payments and balance of their condo will leave many with nothing 😔 victims once again

These poor families… the pain must be unimaginable.. 💔🙏

So well made documentary.

I hadn’t heard her story from any of the coverage I’ve watched until now. I’m freakin crying for her that she has to live through this without her son and husband, it’s just so heartbreaking and unfair. They were such a beautiful family my goodness. RIP to Alfredo and Lorenzo and the other 96 innocent victims. I hope the families are able to find some type of peace in their lives.

I also believe in the eternity of life. May God bless all who were impacted by this tragedy. 🙏 You will meet your loved ones again.

If it is any comfort... I don't live anyplace near Florida but my doctor's office has a parking garage. I just noticed in the last year they added support to the beams to avoid punching shear. I know it is a small comfort but people all around the world will be making much more notes of any issues with any building's or parking garages. My state is taking a look at its very lax condo laws... there will be great good that comes out of this insane tragedy.

Ugh. I’ve cried so many tears for these people. I’m angry they haven’t received any answers but we all know what happened….INCOMPETENCE. pure incompetence at the hands of the condo owner. 98 innocent people died in their beds, and countless lives were affected. A horrible tragedy.

Those lives matter to me... THE FAMILIES NEEED ANSWERS!

It's like I can feel there pain. I'm crying so hard. Why I do this to myself. Can't explain it

While I can only imagine how hard it is to wait for answers the collapse was so complex. It will be difficult to do the investigation and pinpoint the cause. I pray that someday their pain will be less. Such a tragedy.

Sending so much love to all the survivors of this tragedy. I have followed every single update from the initial news of the collapse. I cannot imagine having such a helpless feeling, knowing your family members are trapped in the rubble and you can’t get to them. I have often tried to put myself in the situation of those who perished, and I cannot imagine how the safety you feel inside your own home can be shattered so quickly. Everyone deserves to know they are safe in their own homes, we are in the United States for God sake! We should not have to worry about our basic infrastructure, and if we will still be here on earth when we wake up in the morning. My heart especially breaks for the mom who lost her 5 yr old son. Such devastation. I lost my 12 year old daughter, she was hit by a car, and stayed in intensive care for a week until her brain swelled more than her body could handle and she was declared brain dead. The pain of missing a child is absolutely debilitating. Especially knowing they may have suffered. Or that I could have done something to prevent it. I myself can remember thinking that I could have done something to save her, maybe I should have dropped her off at school so that she wasn’t on her bicycle on the way home? Maybe I should have picked her up and told her we’d come back for the bike together. All these thoughts I have, thinking sometimes I didn’t even deserve a child because I didn’t keep her safe, but I had to keep going on for my other children. I had no choice. They needed me. Sending love to that mother and to the rest of the survivors, it doesn’t get any easier, we just learn how to better live with it each and every day. ❤️

A tragic tragedy, no one saw coming. A loss that is enormous for all concerned, cannot envision the pain and hurt.

God bless those who lost their lives in this senseless tragedy. May their memories and souls live on eternally. Healing prayers of love and comfort to to all the survivors. 🙏🙏♥️♥️

We love u God Bless

How is she alive? I couldn't even breathe. What is she hanging on to? I'm in awe.

@45:25 im angry, im hateful, i am unforgiving- but i dont want to be these things. Is it ok with God that it is really really hard, and that it is taking me some time - a long time - to let these feelings go? Does that make me a bad person? Im a forgiving person generally, but im finding it very hard to forgive today... I needed this: The St Francis Prayer "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy."

It's very unlikely your son would have still stayed with his girlfriend and then his last memories and yours would be anger and frustration.

Would be awesome with subtitles in Spanish !!! Thanks for this beautiful job!

Prayers for comfort and healing for all. This includes the responders. 🙏🙏❤️🙏🙏

This tragedy was deeply-felt, and non of those affected did I know. But the stories hit-home, as here. And one thing is clear, from early videos viewed made by professionals, _analyzing the structure,_ and evident flaws and failures, --- it was a preventable tragedy, if _conscientious care had been taken in original design and construction._ The clock was ticking over decades, and all those years, through storms and seasons, and various renovations, with landscape-changes. The unseen, unrealized count-down to disaster! --- Then night of the final collapse, when the critical failure occurred, that started a fatal chain-reaction. All very sad.

I got in the middle of this documentary and I don't think I can watch anymore this is too sad it's like my heart keeps dropping I don't even know these people but I don't think I can watch no more of this I have to go someplace else I'm so sorry I would love to finish it but I can't 😳🥺🥺🥺

This sounds so insignificant now but to me there were so many amazing Love Stories in this Tragedy! Hearing all these Love Stories give me faith in Humanity again

So much sadness-praying for their strength

Great story and extremely touching. God bless all the survivors.

My heart breaks for the 98 souls lost and the families they left behind. For some reason I can't stop crying for the woman who lost her son Lorenzo and her husband Alfredo. I just feel such sadness for her. It isn't fair for a parent to lose a child ever. Iam so sorry for her loss. For all the losses that all 98 families have suffered. It makes me angry to think this could have been prevented. Peace, love and prayers to all involved and suffering still. To the lives lost RIP❤Kris🇨🇦

Oh man, to lose your baby and your husband 😢

Heartbreaking 💔 🙏

I can't be the only who feels that the interviewers questions were inappropriate and intrusive. "is your marriage gonna fall apart? Do you feel any guilt? Are you really gonna off yourself? How sad are you?" what in the world are you doing??? Knock it off!!!

I remember the Speigel family! I think she was one of last people to be identified if I remember correctly. Judy’s husband quickly said he didn’t feel Survivors guilt! I do like his style. This might be the family where the Mom ordered the Princess Dress.

I can understand why they didn’t do autopsy’s but as a relative some people probably really wanted answers and had a right to know answers.

If these families think that Ron DeSantis is going to do ANYTHING to offend rich corporations that own these buildings....they'll be waiting forever.

I remember the lady that purchased a Disney Princess dress for I believe was her Granddaughter. Whom was in the collapse with her parents. The dress was ordered the night of the collapse I believe because it had been out of stock.The dress finally arrived! That was one of many heartbreaking stories.

To the people that want a memorial... they can pool their settlement money together and buy the property... Pay for the ongoing property tax, utilities and upkeep.... If they want to.

God bless them

One good thing,since it was so late, I’m thinking these people that died didn’t suffer.

DeSantis is a joke.

❤️❤️🙏🙏

I was truly in shock and awe with how they were able to do onsite DNA testing. What a relief that was for so many family members. They could get as close to immediate answers as possible. Something that had not been seen here in the U.S. EVER BEFORE! The officials down there set the bar very high for any future disasters.

that building was a ticking time bomb it’s insane that the condo board didn’t go ahead and fix those glaring issues. the people on the board were cutting corners and it cost them human lives. it’s not right and it’s tragic.

I have a question for all the departments and individuals that are performing the quote unquote investigation of this collapse, when is the investigation going to be complete? See cuz the hands of time are tick-toking away and statue of limitations is going to be coming up real soon. These families deserve some kind of compensation. Someone to be held responsible for what happened to their family members. it's time to stop passing the buck! It's time to start coming up with answers.