Rising seas threaten the high-rise studded coastline of south Florida, but a professor who researches the white-sand beaches said it is unlikely climate change alone was behind the collapse of an oceanfront apartment block last week.
Officials have few answers for what caused most of the 12-storey building in Surfside, Florida, to pancake in the middle of the night, killing 12 people and leaving 149 unaccounted for. Determining what went wrong is expected to require a lengthy investigation.
I don't know if we're going to be the new Venice anytime soon, but we're hopefully not the Atlantis
Stephen Leatherman,
Florida International University
The tragedy came as cities in the Miami area are already experiencing the effects of higher tides and announcing expensive efforts to mitigate them, but Stephen Leatherman, a Florida International University professor who specializes in beaches, said there's no evidence yet the phenomenon played a role in the collapse.
"I doubt that that was an issue here," he told AFP.
Rather, a lack of reinforcement in the building's construction, or perhaps water damage that ultimately compromised its foundations are more likely culprits, Mr Leatherman said.
"Big thing they worry about here are hurricanes, beach erosion, flooding, all those issues. But the collapse of a building is new. We haven't ever seen this before, particularly a high-rise building," he said.
Building boom
Before it disintegrated into a mound of grey rubble in mere seconds, the Champlain Towers South was among a string of high-rise buildings extending along the south Florida coastline that's grown denser amid an ongoing property boom.
Building in towns like Surfside situated on Atlantic barrier islands in the hurricane-prone state has unique challenges, says Mr Leatherman, who is also known as "Dr Beach" for his annual rankings of the world's best seasides.
"You're usually building on sand," as opposed to the limestone underneath Miami, which is further inland but still low-lying like everywhere else in Florida, said Mr Leatherman.
Legislation passed in 1982 requires builders to excavate and construct footers underneath the building's foundation – but the collapsed tower block was completed in 1981.
Mr Leatherman also questioned whether contractors installed enough rebar to support the concrete building, and also the quality of the sand required to make the concrete.
US media reported that concerns were raised about the building's state prior to the disaster.
A 2018 engineer's assessment found "major structural damage" in the complex, extending to the concrete slab under the pool deck and the concrete beams and columns in the parking garage.
Fresh water first
Fuelled by climate change, buildings across south Florida could increasingly see flooding as the rising sea level rise pushes ground water higher, but Mr Leatherman said that won't be corrosive salt water – at least not at first.
"That water should still be fresh water, but if it gets salt water intrusion coming in, then the salt water can penetrate and start rusting that rebar out, and that's not really good," he said.
Nonetheless, the problem has already become serious enough that it's common to see Miamians kayaking along flooded avenues during the summer rainy season.
In February, the Miami-Dade county government announced it would spend billions of dollars to fight sea level rise, and last year the US government had trucks dump sand on Miami Beach to stop erosion that Mr Leatherman said had accelerated due to climate change.
But there's only so much that can be done and he predicts that expensive high-rise properties could soon have to get used to their bottom storeys flooding, while other parts of Miami could end up being abandoned entirely.
"I don't know if we're going to be the new Venice anytime soon, but we're hopefully not the Atlantis," he said.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night
The charge is stored inside a battery
The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode
A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes
This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode
When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again
The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can charge
ANATOMY%20OF%20A%20FALL
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJustine%20Triet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESandra%20Huller%2C%20Swann%20Arlaud%2C%20Milo%20Machado-Graner%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
