Structural Failure

Primary reference(s)

Rossetto, T., 2013. Building failure. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Natural Hazards. Springer. Accessed 29 January 2025.

Annotations

Key relevant UN convention / multilateral treaty

The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. This international treaty, in times of peace, requires risk management plans to protect cultural assets when an urgent situation arises such as the failure of a structure and fire (UNESCO, 1954).

The International Labour Organization C167 - Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (ILO, 1988).

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 outlines seven clear targets and four priorities for action to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks including to substantially reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services, among them health and educational facilities, including through developing their resilience by 2030 (UNDRR, 2015).

Drivers

The drivers of structural failure can include design defects by engineers or architects, incorrect or substandard construction materials, inspection failures to identify building and construction problems, as well as natural hazards or a combination of these drivers (Almarwae, 2017). Explosions and fire and transportation accidents may also result in structural failure 

Three summary examples follow: 

• The Minneapolis bridge collapse that occurred in 2007 is an example of a structural failure that resulted in people being killed and seriously injured. The root cause of this event was exceeding the original structural load-bearing design by retrofitting additional road transportation lanes at later stages and also the weight of road maintenance equipment on the bridge on the day of the failure (Hao, 2010).
• The Heathrow tunnel collapse in 1994 was attributed to the implementation of new project management frameworks, exceeded tolerances of tunnel deflection, inadequate repair to ground settlement, and lack of inspection and monitoring in the construction of the tunnel (Wood, 2000).
• The Sasago tunnel collapse took place in 2013, where a large section of the suspended ceiling panels fell onto moving traffic. This caused the deaths of nine people and the failure was identified as the deterioration of the tunnel construction over time and a lack of routine maintenance (Fujino, 2018). 

The forces generated by natural hazards such as earthquakes, cyclones or tsunamis can weaken or even cause the collapse of civil engineering structures that lack robustness. As urban areas become increasingly dense due to rapid urbanization, the potential risks to lives and property grow. The limited availability of land necessitates the construction of taller and more complex buildings, which are often more susceptible to lateral forces from wind and seismic activity. Consequently, understanding the impact of natural hazards on civil engineering structures remains a crucial area of research. (Jami et al., 2022). 

Multi-hazard context

The figure below summarises common interactions between structural failure and other hazards. This information should be used with caution and not be solely relied upon in Disaster Risk Management, particularly as some interactions may not have been included. Note that hazardous events occurring together or locally in space or time may not necessarily cause, amplify or be otherwise related to each other. Specific examples of multi-hazard context can be found in the ‘Hazard drivers’ and ‘Impacts’ sections above.

Multi-hazard diagram

Risk Management

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) states that rescue workers and emergency responders may already have experience with entering collapsed structures resulting from construction catastrophes, earthquakes, fire and weather-related structural failures. Weather-related structural failures typically result from rain/snow accumulations on roofs, hurricanes, tornadoes, landslides and even avalanches. Rescue workers and emergency responders also face the possibility of entering a structure that has collapsed following a terrorist attack. Terrorist activity may add additional hazards such as secondary devices, follow-on attack and residual radiological, biological or chemical contamination (see chemical HIP on Chemical Warfare CH0903). Historically, terrorist activities that have resulted in collapsed structures include crashing commercial jets into the World Trade Towers in New York City (11 September 2001) and vehicle-borne bombs, such as the one used at the Murrah Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City (19 April 1995). Regardless of the root cause of the structural failure, rescue workers and emergency responders who enter a collapsed structure in order to perform their duties should be able to work safely (OSHA, no date). 

The effects of building collapse include impacts on lives, livelihood and health as well as social, economic and environmental impacts. Since the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction launched its campaign kit for making cities resilient (UNDRR, 2010), the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has been committed to making cities resilient and has engaged and published widely including sharing the ten essentials for making cities resilient (UNDRR, 2019). Engagement in this campaign is vital for enhancing the drivers for risk management with ‘Essential Four: Pursue Resilient Urban Development and Design’, which calls for integrating resilience into socio-economic development planning and infrastructure to safeguard development investments – which will help to reduce the risks of building collapse (UNDRR, 2019). 

Monitoring

Monitoring systems utilize sensor networks, data analysis, and AI-based predictive models to monitor real-time vibrations, cracks, and other structural anomalies. When abnormal signals are detected, it promptly issues alerts to enable preventive measures.  

Advanced monitoring systems use sensor networks, data analytics, and AI-driven predictive models to continuously track real-time vibrations, cracks, and structural anomalies. Upon detecting abnormal patterns, the system classifies the risk level into three stages: 

• Green (Safe): Normal conditions; routine monitoring continues.
• Yellow (Caution): Early signs of potential issues detected; preventive inspection is recommended.
• Red (Alert): Critical anomalies identified; immediate action is required. 

This tiered alert system enables timely and effective preventive measures to ensure structural safety.