Korea – the central section of this bridge in Seoul collapsed with the loss of 32 lives in October 1994.

A five storey Victorian block of flats collapsed in June 1998. Hastings, UK.

November 1994, London Heathrow Airport, UK. Mistakes in the construction of a new underground railway tunnel lead to large scale underground collapse and the loss of an office building.

A 19th century house in Knightsbridge, London, collapses during building works, 1998.

Lancaster, UK: an 18th century building collapses when work is re-started on the building site next door.

Beam bearing failure, Watford, UK. The original construction did not include a padstone to spread the beam loads into the brickwork.

London, UK: This terrace sags in the middle because of foundation failure. It was later demolished.

Traditional timber framed construction, Rye, Sussex, UK. The hardwood purlin connection has failed in this four hundred year old building.

Petroleum storage depot explosion, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, 2005.

An illustration of the damaging effect of tree roots. There is a circle of subsided ground around an oak tree, growing in clay soil in North London. A boy stands with one foot in the subsided area.