The demolition of the remaining section of the collapsed residential block in Florida will take place on Sunday night, the county mayor has announced. The search for survivors has also been put on hold as demolition crews prepare to bring down the rest of the building. The move was taken with Tropical Storm Elsa expected to hit the region early next week.

24 people have been killed in the Surfside, Florida apartment block collapse. At least 121 others are still missing.

At a press conference on Sunday, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that the demolition would be conducted using ‘small, strategically placed explosives’. The demolition will take place between 10pm and 3am on Sunday.

Cava also urged residents in the vicinity to stay indoors as a precautionary measure. “The demolition itself is confined to the immediate area around the building. However, there is dust and other particles that are an unavoidable byproduct of all types of demolition, and as a precautionary measure we’re urging residents in the immediate vicinity to stay indoors,” she said.

On June 24, a major part of the 12-story Champlain Towers South building had collapsed, sending up a huge cloud of dust and rattling Americans unprepared for such a deadly urban disaster.

The unstable remains of the block pose a threat to search and rescue teams still at the scene, though hopes of finding anyone alive are fast diminishing.

Moments after the accident, rescuers arrived at the spot and evacuated dozens of residents. But since then, no other survivors have been found.