Causes for Building Damage
There are a host of potential causes of building damage, however, they can be broken up into three primary categories. Those primary causes are from: environmental conditions, material/structural defects, and ground movements.
The environmental causes can be broken into mainly two subcategories: climatic and seismic (earthquakes). Climatic conditions which can cause damage to the structure are primarily in the form of temperature, wind, and precipitation. More typical examples of building damage from climatic conditions consist of temperature straining, material freeze and thaw, wind damage, and catastrophic weather (e.g. hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding).
Environmental
Figure 1: Tornado Damage 
Figure 2: Hurricane Damage
The second category of material or structural defects consists of flawed constructed materials or elements which result in unintended damage. The two main subcategories of this cause of damage involve improper design and defective installation. Examples of damage from improper design could involve underestimating building loads, missed load or deformation concentrations, inappropriate building elements, poor run-off drainage, and selection of improper materials such as wrong concrete type. Defective construction could involve, for example, poor honeycomb or weak concrete, missing or faulty welds, missing reinforcing steel bars, curing cracks due to improperly poured concrete, etc.
Material Defects
Figure 3: Honeycomb Concrete
(Photo Credit: Gopal Mishra)
https://theconstructor.org/practical-guide/honeycombs-in-concrete-and-remedies/6889/
Figure 4: Water Damage
(Photo Credit: Caitlin McCabe)
The other primary cause is related to ground movements. The different subcategories of ground movement which most typically result in building damage include: soil settlement, soil/rock heave, landsliding, land subsidence, and earthquake shaking and associated ground failure. Land subsidence damage mainly involves sinkholes and surface depressions in karst terrain, from underground mining, and settlement from soil collapse from water saturation. Although earthquake shaking alone can result in building damage, foundation failure can also result from ground failure in the form of settlement, soil liquefaction, and landsliding (including lateral spreading). Please refer to the following blogs for additional explanation: “Causes for Building Settlement”, “Landsliding: What to Do”, “What is Karst Subsidence”, “What is Mine Subsidence”, and “Causes for Building Uplift”.
Ground Movements
Figure 5: Landslide Damage 
Figure 6: Earthquake Damage 
Figure 7: Mine Subsidence Damage
If confronted with building damage, it is important to contact the appropriate experienced forensic engineer. In most cases, a qualified structural engineer would be the most appropriate initial investigator to assess the nature of the damage and provide the proper direction to determine the cause.
If MEA can assist you with your building damage problems, please contact us at 314-833-3189
