The state of Florida should consider requiring high-rise buildings near the coast to undergo safety inspections every 20 years, according to a coalition of engineers and architects that formed after a Miami-area condominium collapsed in June, killing 98 people.

The recommendations, released four months after Champlain Towers South collapsed in Surfside, are based on “preserving the long-term health of buildings by assessing environmental and other degradation of structures and their systems over the life of a building,” the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida and the Florida Engineering Society said in a news release.

Seven of the state’s engineering and architecture associations formed the Surfside Working Group to come up with ideas to prevent another tragedy like the partial collapse of the 12-story beachfront property.

The group also said nearly all large buildings in Florida should be inspected for structural problems within their first 30 years, with followups every 10 years. Buildings within 3 miles (5 kilometres) of saltwater should be inspected within their first 20 years, with followup safety inspections every seven years, the group said.

“Our recommendation is not really to tell the condos, or owners of other buildings, how to maintain your property. It’s just to put a mechanism out there that these buildings need to be looked at every so often to identify any structural problems,” said Allen Douglas, executive director of the Florida Engineering Society and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida.

Keep reading on CTV News