Surfside, Fla. – Nearly a year after the Champlain Towers South condominium complex collapsed, family members of victims are sharing the stories of their loved ones and reflecting on the past 12 months.
Hilda Noriega was also among the 98 people killed in the tower collapse. She was the 12th person to be recognized six days after the fall of June 24, 2021.
Her grandson said she may have been the building’s oldest resident at age 92, but she was always young at heart.
“She was very independent and energetic,” said Michael Noriega.
Supplied by Michael Noriega
Michael still remembers the disbelief he felt when he saw that the tall building where his grandmother lived had collapsed.
“The first night we were here, there was rubble all over the street,” Michael told WPTV from the spot where his grandmother’s building once stood. “And my father, here on Collins Avenue, stepped on something and looked down, and under a layer of dust was a birthday card that had been given to my grandmother by her prayer group two weeks earlier.”
Supplied by Michael Noriega
Noriega was also the mother of former Miami Beach police chief and current North Bay Village police chief Carlos Noriega. Michael said his father was the first to hear the news.
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“He said only one thing in shock, ‘The building is gone. The building is gone.’ And we didn’t know what that meant,” Michael recalled. “We didn’t understand. Even when we saw it with our own eyes, we still couldn’t understand it.
Much of her grandmother’s belongings were lost in the rubble. However, apart from the birthday card, they were able to find some of her things, which Michael said they would cherish forever.
Brian Van Pelt / WPTV
“Birthday cards, family photos and garlands that symbolize her faith are what she lived for,” he said.
Little has been said over the past 12 months as to why the building collapsed. Michael said he wanted answers, but he would rather wait for the right answers than jump to conclusions.
“why did this happen?” He asked. “How did this happen? How do we make sure it never happens again?”