US Building Collapse 2026 have no single national count, but the year’s two deadliest verified collapses killed at least 11 people: 8 in Brooklyn on November 11 and 3 in a Philadelphia parking garage on April 8. Federal investigators also finished their Surfside report in June 2026, tracing the 98-death collapse to punching shear failure at two garage columns.
US Building Collapse 2026 – Introduction
US Building Collapse Statistics are harder to pin down than most safety numbers. The United States has no single national database of building collapses, and engineers note that published research on failure frequency is limited. This report therefore builds the 2026 picture from verified incidents, federal findings and state data. The Brooklyn collapse on November 11, 2026 killed at least 8 people and injured at least 17. The Philadelphia parking garage collapse on April 8, 2026 killed 1 person and left 2 presumed dead.
The sections below cover major incidents, the Brooklyn investigation, the final federal report on Surfside, recent collapses since 2023, trench collapse deaths, Florida’s condo inspection data and the most common causes. Brooklyn figures were still changing on November 12, 2026, so check the New York City Fire Department and Department of Buildings for updates. Where sources differ, the report gives the range.
Interesting Facts About US Building Collapse 2026
KEY 2026 COLLAPSE NUMBERS (each █ = 5)
Surfside deaths (2021) | ████████████████████ 98
Brooklyn building violations | ████████████████████ 98
Brooklyn deaths (so far) | ██ 8
Philadelphia deaths | █ 3
Trench deaths, 2025 | ███ 17
| Fact | 2026 Data |
|---|---|
| Brooklyn collapse deaths (November 11) | At least 8 |
| Brooklyn collapse injuries | 17 to 19 |
| Philadelphia garage collapse deaths (April 8) | 1 dead, 2 presumed dead |
| Surfside collapse deaths (2021) | 98 |
| Surfside settlement | $1.02 billion |
| Trench collapse deaths, 2025 | 17 |
| Florida buildings found unsafe, 2025 | 24 |
| Violations on the Brooklyn building | 98 |
| Age of the Brooklyn building | About 96 years |
Source: ABC News and CNN, November 12, 2026; UPI, November 12, 2026; National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) via ABC News, June 2026; Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), July 2026; Jordan Barab, Confined Space, January 2026.
Two incidents define the year. Brooklyn killed at least 8 and Philadelphia killed 3 counting the two presumed dead, so the verified total stands at 11. The Brooklyn building had 98 recorded violations before it fell. By coincidence, the Surfside collapse also killed 98, and its $1.02 billion settlement is among the largest tied to a US building failure.
Worker and inspection data show the quieter side. Trench collapses killed 17 workers in 2025, the most since 2022. Florida’s first post-Surfside inspection report found 24 buildings unsafe or uninhabitable in 2025, down from 30 in 2024, but reporting gaps limit what those numbers prove.
US Building Collapse Statistics 2026: Major Incidents and Fatalities
DEATHS IN VERIFIED 2026 US COLLAPSES (each █ = 1 death)
Brooklyn, Nov 11 | ████████ 8+
Philadelphia garage, Apr 8 | ███ 3 (1 dead, 2 presumed dead)
| Incident | Date | Type | Deaths | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn, NY (Flatbush) | November 11, 2026 | Three-story mixed-use building into adjacent excavation | At least 8 | Cause unknown; investigation open |
| Philadelphia, PA (Grays Ferry) | April 8, 2026 | Parking garage under construction | 3 (1 dead, 2 presumed dead) | City and OSHA involved |
| Total, two incidents | 2026 | At least 11 | Brooklyn count may rise |
Source: ABC News, CNN and UPI, November 12, 2026; ABC News and AP, April 9, 2026.
Brooklyn is the deadlier event. A three-story building collapsed into a construction pit on the afternoon of November 11, and the death toll climbed from 2 that day to 8 by the next morning. The Philadelphia garage was a seven-level structure under construction for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. One worker died, and the mayor said 2 missing workers were presumed dead.
These are verified incidents, not a complete list. Smaller partial collapses, roof failures and demolition accidents happen without national tracking. Treat the total of 11 as a floor for deadly collapses of occupied or under-construction buildings that reached national news. Local building departments hold more records, but no agency combines them.
Brooklyn Building Collapse 2026: Flatbush Death Toll, Violations and Cause
BROOKLYN COLLAPSE CASUALTIES (each █ = 1 person)
Killed | ████████ 8
Injured (low count) | █████████████████ 17
Injured (high count) | ███████████████████ 19
| Detail | Finding |
|---|---|
| Date and time | November 11, 2026, just after 4 p.m. |
| Deaths | At least 8 |
| Injuries | 17 (mayor) to 19 (FDNY) |
| Firefighters injured | 3 |
| Building | 3 stories, store plus 4 residential units |
| Year built | 1930, renovated 1960 |
| Department of Buildings violations | 98 |
| Cause | Under investigation |
Source: ABC News, CNN and UPI, November 12, 2026; Latin Times, November 2026, for Department of Buildings records.
The collapse swallowed the rear of the building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue and sent it into an open construction pit next door. Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed 8 deaths and 17 injuries, including 3 firefighters. CNN cited FDNY figures of 19 hurt. Four people recovered on Thursday morning appeared to be construction workers. UPI reported that seven children were among those hurt.
Records show a long trail of warnings. The Department of Buildings logged 98 violations against the building, and it cited the adjacent site in April and May 2026, including one for demolishing a structure despite a stop-work order. A retired chief structural engineer for the department said the building lacked support at street level and that removing its neighbor turned it into a corner building. Officials have not named a cause, so treat that view as analysis, not a finding.
Surfside Collapse Final Report 2026: NIST Findings on the 98-Death Failure
SURFSIDE TIMELINE IN YEARS (each █ = 1 year)
First repair need noted (1996) to collapse | █████████████████████████ 25
Collapse to federal final report | █████ 5
| Surfside Measure | Finding |
|---|---|
| Collapse date | June 24, 2021 |
| Deaths | 98 |
| Collapse duration | Under 12 seconds |
| Failure mechanism | Punching shear at 2 garage columns under the pool deck |
| Start of failure | Early June 2021, about 3 weeks before collapse |
| Design compliance | Design did not meet building codes |
| Pre-collapse repair plan | $15 million, main work not started |
| Litigation | $1.02 billion settlement approved |
Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) final report, June 2026, via ABC News and Insurance Journal; Wikipedia summary of court records.
NIST released its final technical report almost 5 years after the collapse. Investigators concluded that two connections between garage columns and the pool deck failed in early June 2021, a type of failure called punching shear. That started a slow-motion collapse that ended on June 24, 2021, when the central section and eastern wing fell in under 12 seconds. The report found that the original design did not meet building codes and that 40 years of alterations contributed.
Warning signs ran back decades. Town documents showed the pool deck and garage ceiling needed repairs as early as 1996, which is 25 years before the collapse. A $15 million repair program had been approved, but main structural work never began. NIST also found corroded reinforcing steel in the pool deck and street-level parking slabs. The collapse tied the Knickerbocker Theatre failure of 1922 as the third deadliest non-deliberate structural failure in US history.
US Building Collapses 2023 to 2026: Recent Incidents Compared by Deaths
DEATHS BY RECENT US COLLAPSE (each █ = 1 death)
Brooklyn garage-adjacent, 2026 | ████████ 8+
Philadelphia garage, 2026 | ███ 3
Davenport, Iowa, 2023 | ███ 3
New York City garage, 2023 | █ 1
| Incident | Date | Building Type | Deaths | Building Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn, NY | November 2026 | Mixed-use, 3 stories | At least 8 | About 96 years |
| Philadelphia, PA | April 2026 | Garage under construction | 3 | New construction |
| Davenport, IA | May 28, 2023 | Six-story apartment | 3 | 116 years |
| New York, NY | April 18, 2023 | Parking garage | 1 | Nearly 100 years |
Source: The Conversation (Abieyuwa Aghayere), January 2024; SmartBrief, 2024; ABC News and CNN, 2026.
Older buildings dominate the recent list. The Davenport, Iowa apartment building was 116 years old when it partially collapsed in 2023 and killed 3 people. Inspectors pointed to improper maintenance, and photos showed bowed walls before the failure. The Manhattan Financial District garage, nearly 100 years old, killed 1 person the same year after a history of violations. A seven-story New York apartment building also partially collapsed in December 2023, and a visible vertical crack in a corner column had been ignored.
Brooklyn fits the pattern of an aging structure with a long violation history. New York City’s median building age is about 90 years, and many neighborhoods date to before 1900. Philadelphia breaks the pattern, because its garage was brand new and under construction. That shows collapse risk also sits in construction sequencing, not only in age. Together the four incidents killed at least 15 people.
US Trench Collapse Deaths 2026: Workers Killed in Excavation Cave-Ins
US TRENCH COLLAPSE DEATHS BY YEAR (each █ = 2 deaths)
2022 | ████████████████████ 39
2023 | ████████ 15
2024 | ███████ 13
2025 | █████████ 17
| Year | Trench Collapse Deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 39 (record count) | Up 60% on 2021 per BLS peak of 40 |
| 2023 | 15 | Down 62% |
| 2024 | 13 | Down 13% |
| 2025 | 17 | Up 31% |
| Total, 2022 to 2025 | 84 |
Source: Jordan Barab, Confined Space, January 2026, using OSHA and media reports; Bureau of Labor Statistics via NPR and Texas Public Radio, July 2024.
Trench cave-ins are the best-counted form of collapse death in the United States. Deaths peaked at 39 in 2022, though the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 40 for that year, up 60% from 2021. Deaths then fell to 15 in 2023 and 13 in 2024. In 2025 they rose to 17, the highest since 2022, a 31% increase over 2024. Across the four years, 84 workers died.
NPR found more than 250 trench collapse deaths over a decade. OSHA requires a protective system such as a box for any trench deeper than 5 feet. Investigators say the standard protections are cheap and widely known. The Brooklyn collapse also happened beside an excavation, which shows why excavation safety extends beyond workers in the trench to neighbors above and beside it.
Florida Condo Inspection Data 2026: Unsafe Buildings After Surfside
FLORIDA BUILDINGS FOUND UNSAFE OR UNINHABITABLE (each █ = 2)
2024 | ███████████████ 30
2025 | ████████████ 24
| Florida Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Unsafe or uninhabitable, 2024 | 30 buildings |
| Unsafe or uninhabitable, 2025 | 24 buildings |
| Repair permit applications identified | 903 |
| Estimated repair cost range | Under $1,000 to $30 million |
| 2024 data received from local jurisdictions | 71% |
| Municipal officials missing 2025 data, Broward | 23% |
| Municipal officials missing 2025 data, Miami-Dade | 21% |
| Municipal officials missing 2025 data, Palm Beach | 44% |
Source: Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), first milestone inspection report, July 2026, via WUFT, WLRN and WUSF.
Florida’s first statewide report after Surfside found 30 buildings unsafe or uninhabitable in 2024 and 24 in 2025. That is a drop of 20%, but the data is incomplete. The state received 2024 reports from 71% of local jurisdictions. For 2025, 23% of municipal officials in Broward, 21% in Miami-Dade and 44% in Palm Beach did not submit data. The report also found that officials did not vacate most buildings labelled unsafe.
The inspection program also surfaced repair work. OPPAGA counted 903 permit applications, with estimated costs from under $1,000 to $30 million. Typical work involved concrete, electrical and structural repairs. Florida law does not define “unsafe” or “uninhabitable,” so local officials use different standards. The numbers show the program is finding problems, though not yet in a form that supports firm statewide trends.
Causes of US Building Collapses 2026: Maintenance, Design, Excavation and Warning Signs
DOCUMENTED CAUSE CATEGORIES IN 2026 INCIDENTS (each █ = 1 incident type)
Deferred maintenance and corrosion | █ Surfside
Design and construction errors | █ Surfside
Adjacent excavation or demolition | █ Brooklyn
Ignored visible warning signs | ███ Davenport, NYC garage, NYC apartment
| Cause Category | Documented Example |
|---|---|
| Corrosion and deferred maintenance | Surfside: corroded reinforcing steel; repairs flagged since 1996 |
| Design and construction errors | Surfside: design below code; 40 years of alterations |
| Adjacent excavation or demolition | Brooklyn: collapse into neighboring pit; 98 violations on record |
| Ignored warning signs | Davenport: bowed walls; NYC apartment: vertical column crack |
| Aging stock | New York City median building age of about 90 years |
| Construction sequencing | Philadelphia: garage failed during construction |
Source: NIST final report on Surfside, June 2026; The Conversation, January 2024; ABC News and CNN, November 2026; Rimkus Forensics, January 2026.
Collapse investigations usually find a chain of causes rather than a single failure. At Surfside, corrosion, a design that missed code requirements and decades of alterations combined. In Brooklyn, the adjacent excavation and the removal of a neighboring structure are the focus, but officials have named no cause. Davenport and a New York apartment building both showed visible damage before they failed. Engineers writing for The Conversation said many recent collapses had visible defects and paper trails.
The practical fix is periodic structural inspection of existing buildings, as Florida now requires for older condos. NIST investigations take 2 to 5 years, so final causes for the 2026 collapses will arrive well into 2028 or later. Until then, the numbers in this report show scale, not cause. Expect Brooklyn’s count and cause to change as investigators work through records and site conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions About US Building Collapse 2026
How many building collapses happen in the US each year?
No national agency tracks them all, and published research on failure frequency is limited. This report counts only verified incidents.
How many people died in the Brooklyn building collapse in 2026?
At least 8 people died in the November 11, 2026 Flatbush collapse, and 17 to 19 were injured. The count may change.
What caused the Brooklyn building collapse in 2026?
Officials have not named a cause. Investigators are examining records and conditions at the collapsed building and the neighboring excavation site.
How many people died in the Philadelphia parking garage collapse?
1 person died and 2 were presumed dead after the April 8, 2026 collapse of a garage under construction in Grays Ferry.
What did NIST find about the Surfside collapse?
NIST found that two garage column connections failed by punching shear in early June 2021, starting a collapse that ended on June 24.
How many people died in the Surfside condo collapse?
98 people died on June 24, 2021. A $1.02 billion settlement for victims was approved.
What is the deadliest building collapse in US history?
Pemberton Mill in 1860 and the Hyatt Regency walkway in 1981 rank above Surfside. Surfside ties the Knickerbocker Theatre at 98 deaths.
How many workers die in trench collapses in the US?
Trench collapses killed 17 workers in 2025, 13 in 2024 and 15 in 2023. The record in recent years is 39 to 40 in 2022.
How many Florida buildings were found unsafe after Surfside?
Milestone inspections found 30 unsafe or uninhabitable buildings in 2024 and 24 in 2025, with incomplete local reporting.
What are the main causes of building collapses?
Common causes include corrosion, deferred maintenance, design and construction errors, adjacent excavation and ignored warning signs.
How old was the Brooklyn building that collapsed?
It was built in 1930 and renovated in 1960, which makes it about 96 years old.
How long do NIST collapse investigations take?
Typically 2 to 5 years. The Surfside report arrived almost 5 years after the collapse.
Where can I find official building collapse information?
Check the NYC Department of Buildings, FDNY, OSHA, NIST and your local building department for current investigations and records.
Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.