7 disasters that changed how civil engineers work

Part of recovering from a catastrophe is reassuring the community that steps are being taken to prevent it from happening again.

For civil engineers, who help ensure the safety and resilience of our infrastructure, it means learning from these disasters and upgrading skills and knowledge accordingly via continued professional development (CPD).

Here, we look at five disasters that have led to changes in codes, standards and work practices that all civil engineers need to be aware of.

1. Surfside condominium collapse in Miami, US

What happened

On 24 June 2021, the Champlain Towers South (CST) building in Miami collapsed, resulting in the death of 98 people.

The condominium had substantial concrete structural damage in its pool deck area, mainly from failed waterproofing.

This damage was identified in 2018, with repairs estimated to cost USD$9 million, but they were never completed.

"Sea level rise has been identified as a possible cause for degradation of the CTS’s foundations," explained Christopher Beckett, senior lecturer in geotechnical engineering at the University of Edinburgh.

Rising sea levels can lead to saline (salt and water) permeating the groundwater. The foundations can also be exposed to salts through spray from storm winds and through flooding.

Before the building collapsed, inspections were mandatory 40 years after construction, and every 10 years onwards. Champlain Towers South was in its 40th year when it collapsed.

What’s changed

After the disaster, building inspections and recertifications were brought forward to 30 years after construction.

Furthermore, as of 2023, Miami-Dade County will require all condominiums and homeowner associations to release financial statements, maintenance and engineering reports, planned capital projects and insurance certificates to a public database.

2. The Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, UK

What happened

On 15 April 1989, football fans were crowded and crushed against the high steel fencing in Leppings Lane Terrace at Hillsborough Stadium. Ninety-seven lives were lost due to this disaster.

In a critical assessment of the disaster, ICE found deviations from the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds concerning geometry, layout and spacing between barriers on the terrace.

As these are necessary for adequate safety, ICE concluded it demonstrated “poor professional judgement”.

A report into the disaster took place in April 1989, undertaken by Lord Justice Taylor. It found lack of police control at the root of the catastrophe.

What’s changed

The report recommended removing perimeter and lateral fencing and called for all-seater stadiums, which revolutionised safety at football grounds and sport arenas.

However, since 2022, standing has been allowed at licensed safe standing sections of designated football stadiums.

The UK government is currently drafting a Hillsborough Law.

3. The Skelmorlie and Dolgarrog reservoir disasters in southwest Scotland and North Wales, UK

What happened

A loud crack was heard in the quiet village of Ayrshire on the afternoon of 18 April 1925, following torrential rain over 17-18 April.

At the time, locals near the lower reservoir of the Skelmorlie Waterworks spotted that water was pouring out of two cracks that had appeared on the embankment.

Ten minutes later, the reservoir was empty, having released almost 16 million litres of water downhill, destroying buildings, bridges and roads. It claimed the lives of five villagers.

Parliamentary records show that the disaster inquiry returned a “unanimous verdict that the accident had been caused by an absence of regular skilled inspection and maintenance of the reservoir”.

Also in 1925, on the night of 2 November, two dams failed in the village of Dolgarrog in North Wales, taking the lives of 10 adults and six children.

The breach of the dams resulted in a disastrous flood, with 350 billion litres of water and debris smashing through the village and destroying the buildings in its path. Only the empty Porth Lwyd Hotel remains.

The Eigiau Dam failed first, after two weeks of heavy rain. The water from the breached reservoir then overtopped the Coedty Dam, releasing the flood towards the village.

The inquest into the disaster found that the dam wall had failed “in consequence of the wall lacking a proper foundation” and not being “sufficiently deep”.

What’s changed?

These tragedies led to the Reservoir (Safety Provisions) Act in 1930.

In its aim to tighten building requirements, it introduced the role of qualified civil engineers to oversee the design, construction and supervision of large reservoirs.

The act was updated in 1975 into the Reservoirs Act.

It requires the UK Secretary of State to consult with the ICE president, or a committee appointed by the institution, when setting up panels of engineers to inspect and supervise reservoirs.

This role is currently undertaken by the ICE Reservoirs Committee, overseen by the president.

The committee sets rigorous standards that engineers must meet to be recommended to these panels.

4. The 2017 Puebla-Morelos earthquake, Mexico

What happened

On 19 September 2017, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit central Mexico, killing more than 200 people and toppling dozens of buildings in Mexico City.

It struck exactly 32 years after an 8.1 magnitude earthquake killed more than 9,000 people and left 100,000 homeless.

What’s changed

After the 1985 earthquake, building codes changed and protections against earthquakes were established.

But after the 2017 event, surveys found that severely damaged structures corresponded to old seismic codes (1942-1976), highlighting that even after 1985, the city’s earthquake resilience wasn’t optimal.

In fact, many damages and collapses were observed in buildings designed according to 1987 and 2004 codes, implemented after the 1985 earthquake.

To avoid this extent of damage, studies have recommended resilience-based retrofitting, upgrading of existing structures and implementing a new resilience-based seismic design code.

5. Morandi Bridge collapse in Genoa, Italy

What happened

On 14 August 2018, after a strong summer storm, a portion of the Morandi motorway bridge collapsed, killing 43 and leaving 600 people homeless.

Located in Genoa, the bridge was cable-stayed and featured single post-tensioned concrete stays and spans measuring over 200m.

By 1979, the bridge's designer, Riccardo Morandi expressed concern about the rate of degradation of the bridge, citing the marine environment and nearby pollution as contributors.

When investigators assessed the scene after the collapse, they found evidence of corrosion and damage to the main stay cables of the collapsed section of the bridge.

Result of analyses have shown that the "stay cable was the most critical element whose failure would have triggered the collapse".

What’s changed

In 2020, architect Renzo Piano unveiled the new Genoa San Giorgio Bridge, replacing Morandi bridge.

The new bridge will be continuously monitored using internal sensors, which will be supported by robots to assess the bridge’s external structure.

Sensors can "monitor the condition of embedded reinforcement, accelerations within the structure (e.g. under wind loads) and the formation and propagation of cracks, amongst many other indicators of damage," explains Beckett.

6. Grenfell disaster in London, UK

What happened

On 14 June 2017, the cladding on the Grenfell tower in London caught fire, resulting in 72 people losing their lives and untold trauma for their families and many others living nearby.

The inquiry into the disaster found that the construction company had used cheaper, flammable cladding that’d even been prohibited in other countries.

This highlighted failures across the construction industry in the UK, particularly regarding construction product regulation.

The UK government commissioned Dame Judith Hackitt to lead an Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.

What’s changed

The Fire Safety Bill was introduced in 2020, amending the 2005 version. It received Royal Assent in 2021 and became the Fire Safety Act. The act aims to provide greater clarity over responsibility for fire safety in buildings containing more than one home.

After the tragedy, Dame Judith Hackitt led an independent review of building regulations and fire safety, which made 50 recommendations to raise standards in the industry.

This led to the Building Safety Act (2022). The relevant supporting regulations came into force for duty holders in England in October 2023.

The act also appointed the UK government's Health and Safety Executive as the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

7. Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

What happened?

About an hour after midnight on 26 March 2024, a cargo ship crashed into one of the main support piers of the Francis Scott Key Bridge (or Key Bridge).

The bridge collapsed in seconds, its pieces falling into the Patapsco River.

The Dali cargo ship had issued a mayday call moments before the collision, having lost power.

The day before, the Dali had experienced two power outages while in port. In its investigation the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) found a loose cable in the electrical system – likely the cause of these failures.

Regarding the bridge, the NTSB reported that a recommended assessment of the bridge’s vulnerability to a strike had not been conducted.

Had the assessment been completed, it would’ve been found that the Key Bridge’s risk level was 30 times the threshold for critical or essential bridges.

What’s changed?

Ageing bridges like the Francis Scott Key Bridge are increasingly at risk from collisions with modern mega-ships, critics have highlighted.

In its interim report on the incident, the NTSB noted the importance of evaluating and reducing collision risks with input from interdisciplinary teams.