The climate crisis is cause for forensic engineers to re-examine how buildings, bridges, and surrounding infrastructure fail. After all, older building codes were designed around less volatile weather systems and climate conditions. New extremes in various environments can result in unforeseen mechanical failures that target structural integrity. For example:
- More frequent flash flooding and rougher river currents can wash away sediment (also known as scouring) around bridge supports and underwater foundations, leading to possible collapse.
- Extreme drought followed by intense downpours changes soil. Clay-heavy soils shrink during dry spells and swell rapidly when soaked. The variation can crack foundations and potentially collapse retaining walls.
- High-intensity rainfall events frequently overwhelm flat roof drainage systems. In worst case scenarios, thousands of pounds of water weight can trigger roof collapses.
- Prolonged heat waves can cause thermal expansion in concrete decks, steel, and masonry. In extreme cases, structural buckling and joint failures may follow.
In litigation, forensic engineers typically investigate whether a failure was caused by a design flaw, poor maintenance, or an unforeseeable natural disaster aka an ‘Act of God.’ However, as we move from warning about and dreading a climate crisis into adapting to it now that it is here, courts no longer treat severe weather as an automatic “Act of God.” Weather models are getting better at predicting extreme conditions, so forensic engineers are now tasked with proving whether designers failed to account for reasonably foreseeable climate impacts. As they say, the times are changing.
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