Survey of Recent Structural Failures in the United Arab Emirates

The construction engineering industry in the Unites Arab Emirates (UAE) has witnessed an unprecedented growth in the past decade. Despite the recent challenges due to the world economic slowdown, the construction sector remains strong in the Gulf region. This paper reviews the structural failures that have occurred in the past decade in the country and documents their causes, frequencies, and consequences. Forty-one structural and construction failures that occurred in the past decade are investigated. The information was collected from the local newspapers, regional construction and business magazines, and technical articles. While a large number of failures were due to errors in construction, there were a few failures due to design errors. The study showed that most of the construction failures were due to improper shoring and weak scaffolding as a result of negligence; hence, some of the structural failures could have been avoided.