HOLMES BEACH, Fla. – A vacation rental building on Florida’s Gulf Coast was deemed structurally unsafe, leading to the voluntary evacuation of tourists who were staying there, officials said.
Vacation rental companies sent the evacuated vacationers to other rental properties after the building was found to be unsafe on Friday, Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
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The mayor said the concern was focused primarily on the balconies at the four-plex building.
“One of the tenants called code enforcement and told them he was concerned about the safety of the building,” she said. “It did appear to be unsafe. Cracks were showing up on the balconies. We notified the management companies, so they voluntarily relocated everybody to other properties.”
The evacuation followed the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside on June 24. The collapse has led to concerns in buildings across Florida. Authorities said at least 97 people died in the collapse. As of Monday, 95 of those victims had been identified, with potentially at least one more person buried in the rubble.
Holmes Beach officials will be reviewing options for a local ordinance that would regulate engineering inspections, the mayor said.