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[size=1.2](CNN)The remaining portion of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida, was demolished just after 10:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
[size=1.2]Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told CNN in a briefing Sunday night that once the area has been deemed secure following the building's demolition, search and rescue teams will resume their efforts on the debris pile.
[size=1.06667]The damaged remaining structure at the Champlain Towers South condo building collapses in a controlled demolition, Sunday in Surfside, Florida.
[size=1.2]Search efforts at the partially collapsed building were paused Saturday around 4 p.m. so engineers could secure the site and prepare for the demolition, which officials said was crucial to allowing authorities to continue to look for survivors safely, eliminating the threat posed by the part of the structure that was still standing.
[size=1.2]"As soon as the building is down and once the site is deemed secure, we will have our first responders back on the pile to immediately resume their work," Levine Cava said Sunday night.
[size=1.2]She called the method of demolition "energetic felling," describing it as a process that "uses small, strategically placed explosives and relies on gravity to bring the building down in place."
[size=1.2]The demolition was planned to be confined to the immediate area around the building, but nearby residents were asked to stay indoors as a precautionary measure, the mayor said, citing the dust and other particles that will be an "unavoidable byproduct" of the demolition.
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[size=1.2]Officials have been racing against Tropical Storm Elsa, which is tracking toward South Florida with heavy rain and sustained winds of 60 mph. The demolition team continued its preparations Sunday -- the 11th day since approximately 55 of the building's 136 units collapsed early June 24, killing at least 24 people. There are 121 people who remain unaccounted for.
[size=1.2]Those who diedinclude 4- and 10-year-old sisters, an elderly couple and the daughter of a firefighter.
[size=1.2]Nicole Mejias told CNN on Saturday that five of her family members were in the Champlain Towers South building when it collapsed, including 7-year-old Stella Cattarossi, the daughter of the Miami firefighter. Cattarossi's body was found Thursday night.
[size=1.2]"We just miss them so much already, we wish this tragedy didn't happen, and will always remember them," Mejias said.
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]A family of four, a 60-year love story, a young man with muscular dystrophy: What we know about the collapse victims
[size=1.2]Appearing on Sunday's "Face the Nation" on CBS, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett underscored that authorities are still working with the mindset that this remains a rescue effort.
[size=1.2]"It is absolutely not a recovery effort," Burkett said, later adding, "There is nobody in charge really talking about stopping this rescue effort. And this rescue effort, as far as I'm concerned, will go on until everybody is pulled out of that debris."
[size=1.2]Burkett said at Sunday's briefing his team was tasked with altering their operational approach around the collapsed structure as Tropical Storm Elsa moved closer.
[size=1.2]"It appears as though the approaching storm may have been a blessing in disguise for us in that it initiated the demolition discussion," he said.
[size=1.2]Burkett said he hopes the demolition will eliminate a potentially dangerous threat to workers and possibly open up an estimated third of the remaining pile to search and rescue teams.
[size=1.2]"We want to make sure that we control which way the building falls and not a hurricane, so all of this together I think ended up being a good thing," Burkett said.
[size=1.2]Demolition plans and a race against the storm
[size=1.2]Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 15 counties Saturday -- including Miami-Dade County -- because of Tropical Storm Elsa.
[size=1.2]"We're preparing for the risk of isolated tornadoes, storm surge, heavy rainfall and flash flooding," DeSantis said, adding the state has "begun executing contingency plans for the Tropical Storm Elsa and Surfside co-response."
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Toby Fried holds up a picture of her missing brother, Chaim Rosenberg, outside the Surfside Community Center on June 25.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Rescue workers use a crane to inspect the damage.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Ariana Hevia, center, stands with Sean Wilt near the partially collapsed building on June 25. Hevia's mother, Cassandra Statton, lives in the building.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Rescue workers arrive to the scene with dogs on June 25.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Faydah Bushnaq, center, is hugged by Maria Fernanda Martinez as they stand on the beach near the building. Bushnaq, who was vacationing in South Florida, stopped to write "pray for their souls" in the sand.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]The arm of an earth mover is seen during the search operations.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Rescue personnel work at the site on June 24.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Yube Pettingill talks to the media. Two of her family members were still missing.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]This photo was tweeted by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue after the building collapsed.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Displaced residents are taken to a nearby hotel in Surfside.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]The partial collapse left huge piles of rubble and materials dangling from what remained of the structure.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, at center in the red tie, arrives to speak to the media on June 24. "We still have hope to be able to identify additional survivors," DeSantis told reporters near the scene. "The state of Florida, we're offering any assistance that we can."
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Debris dangles from the building on June 24.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]People hug at a family reunification center where evacuees were staying in Surfside.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]The cause of the collapse wasn't immediately known.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Jennifer Carr sits with her daughter as they and other evacuees wait for news at the family reunification center in Surfside.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Rescue personnel search through the rubble with dogs.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Police stand guard on the day the building collapsed.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]People on the beach look at the building after the partial collapse.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]The building was constructed in 1981, according to online Miami-Dade property records.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]People lie on cots at the family reunification center in Surfside.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]The beachfront community is a few miles north of Miami Beach.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]More than 80 rescue units responded to the scene, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Rescue personnel work at the site of the partial collapse.
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[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Photos: [size=1.06667]Deadly condo collapse near Miami
[size=1.06667][size=1.06667]Karol Casper places a flower on a memorial wall set up near Champlain Towers South on Sunday, July 4.
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