Residents forced out of apartments after floor collapse

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) -- Several residents have been forced out of their apartments after the floor gave out from under them.

Yasmin Coss and her husband's relaxing evening did not last long Sunday night after hearing a loud cracking noise inside their Miami Beach studio apartment at 8260 Byron Avenue.

The sudden collapse of the floor shocked several residents. "I cannot believe that this is happening. We've been saying all day, 'How is this happening?' said Coss. "You are in Miami and you think hurricanes, stay away from the windows. You don't think, 'Holy crap, the floor is caving in!'"

Coss now has to move from the ground floor to the second. Resident Ashley Collins was forced to move from the second floor to the ground floor. "I feel very unsafe. I feel like I'm in danger here," said resident Oscar Diaz.

"I have been fighting tears," said Cross. "These are my life things, you know? It's scary. How can he have us here knowing that this could happen?"

The landlord of the building, Allan Kaul, has a lien on the property for $58,000. Kaul said the building is just old. "It's just the building is 60 years old and rebar rust and the floor slab, it's a concrete floor slab," said Kaul. "Rebar rust and the weight of it with all the furniture, and it just gave way. It looks like a two-foot crawl space underneath."

Residents are hoping the American Red Cross can give them some help. Cross is five months pregnant, and she said moving from one problematic place to another does not help. "We're in another apartment upstairs, but it has a hole in the ceiling, so, OK, now we are going to wait for the ceiling to come in again?" said Coss.

Five units have been condemned by the City of Miami Beach and tenants in all 20 units have been ordered out.

Kaul has seven days to submit an engineering report to the city and 30 days to get a permit for repairs.

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