Joe Biden to visit site of Surfside condo collapse Thursday

Image via AP.

President Joe Biden, joined by first lady Jill Biden, will visit Surfside Thursday to assess the damage of the collapsed 12-story condo tower. The White House announced Biden’s visit on Tuesday.

A day prior, on Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced that the Biden administration had dispatched Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell to the scene, in addition to the more than 50 personnel already on the ground working with state and local officials to provide assistance.

Biden has also responded by providing federal aid to search and rescue operations, as well as to families displaced by the event.

As far as rescue efforts, Tuesday marked the sixth day crews have been working. So far, 11 individuals have been confirmed dead from the collapse, while another 150 remain unaccounted for in the rubble of what was previously Champlain Towers South condominium.

During their visit, the Bidens plan to meet with the affected families as well as thank first responders.

“They want to make sure that state and local officials have the resources and support they need under the emergency declaration approved by the president for Miami-Dade,” Psaki said at a Tuesday press conference, also noting that the visit will be “closely coordinated with officials on the ground to ensure it does not provide any critical local resources from ongoing search and rescue operations or have any negative operational impact.”

The mission still remains a search-and-rescue operation, but no one has been found alive since hours after the collapse on Thursday.

North tower residents who want to temporarily relocate are being offered federal assistance, just as survivors from the south tower are.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has offered praise to FEMA’s efforts in providing assistance, after declaring a state of emergency in Miami-Dade County on Thursday, which cleared the path for Biden to approve federal emergency aid from FEMA.