41. Dar es Salaam Building Collapse, Tanzania
Built: 2007
Collapsed: 2013
Est. Damages: $3-$15 million*
Early on Good Friday in Tanzania, there was a building collapse that killed thirty-six people. The Dar es Salaam building was a sixteen-floor residential apartment building, and it collapsed onto a nearby mosque. In addition to the death toll, sixty people were trapped.
Dar es Salaam Building Collapse, Tanzania @cehnigeria / Pinterest.com
Two main causes were behind the Dar es Salaam collapse: no steel bar reinforcement and substandard concrete. The building also exceeded its approval, which was for ten floors, not sixteen. The casualty figures were high, but they weren’t as high as they could have been, as the street was empty of shoppers and vendors because of the holiday.