[ti:Biden Meets with Families of Building Collapse, Search Halted]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]President Joe Biden met with families and emergency workers
[00:06.08]affected by the collapse of a building last week near Miami, Florida.
[00:12.96]The partial collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South
[00:18.00]condominium building killed at least 18 people.
[00:23.24]And 145 people are missing.
[00:27.08]Hundreds of emergency and rescue workers
[00:30.84]have been searching the debris for signs of life.
[00:34.64]No one has been rescued since the first hours after the collapse.
[00:41.52]Biden met privately on Thursday
[00:44.20]with friends and family members of those affected by the collapse.
[00:49.72]He spoke in very personal terms.
[00:53.92]Biden said he knew about loss.
[00:56.60]His first wife Neilia and baby daughter Naomi
[01:01.04]died in a car accident in 1972.
[01:04.88]In 2015, his adult son Beau died of brain cancer.
[01:11.60]"I just wish there was something I could do to ease the pain,"
[01:16.32]he said in a video posted on Instagram.
[01:20.20]The video was posted by Jacqueline Patoka,
[01:24.52]a woman who was close friends with a man
[01:27.68]and a woman and their daughter who are still missing.
[01:33.36]"The people you may have lost
[01:35.64]— they're gonna be with you your whole life," he told the families.
[01:39.84]"A part of your soul, a part of who you are."
[01:44.88]Thursday morning the president spoke with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
[01:50.08]and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
[01:56.20]Biden said that he believed the federal government has "the power
[02:00.72]to pick up 100 percent of the cost" of the search and cleanup.
[02:05.80]He urged local officials to look to the federal government for help.
[02:12.92]"There's gonna be a lot of pain and anxiety and suffering
[02:18.20]and even the need for psychological help
[02:21.40]in the days and months that follow," Biden said.
[02:25.96]"And so, we're not going anywhere."
[02:29.60]The president and first lady Jill Biden's visit
[02:35.04]came as rescue efforts at the collapse area were halted Thursday.
[02:41.24]Officials said there was concern about damage
[02:45.08]to the remaining structure.
[02:48.36]Rescue workers noticed several cracks in the building
[02:52.72]that had gotten larger.
[02:55.12]Alan Cominsky is the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief.
[02:59.76]He said a large support hanging from the wreckage
[03:04.00]moved at least 15 centimeters and "could fall and cause damage"
[03:09.68]to the support structure in the underground parking area.
[03:14.84]Officials also saw movement in pieces of the floor
[03:19.32]"that could cause additional failure of the building," he said.
[03:24.72]Biden also met with emergency workers.
[03:28.76]They have been working all day and night
[03:32.24]on a rescue effort that has now lasted a week.
[03:37.68]"What you're doing here is incredible,
[03:40.40]having to deal with the uncertainty," Biden said.
[03:45.80]Biden talked about the car crash that killed his first wife and daughter
[03:50.92]as a moment when he and his family needed emergency workers.
[03:57.16]"Until we need you, no one fully appreciates what you do, he said.
[04:03.00]"But I promise you — we know. We know."
[04:08.76]Biden has supported an investigation into the cause of the collapse.
[04:14.84]In 2018, an engineering report
[04:18.68]said it had found "major structural damage" in the building.
[04:25.00]The report also found cracking of concrete supports
[04:29.52]and walls in the lower level of the building.
[04:34.16]While speaking with reporters Thursday,
[04:37.16]Biden said the families he met were "committed"
[04:40.80]to knowing what happened to their loved ones
[04:43.72]and what caused the collapse.
[04:47.24]"I walked away impressed by their strength," he said.
[04:52.04]I'm Dan Novak. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM