Porch collapse

The collapses have a number of causes, including overloading due to excessive weight from overoccupancy (too many people).

After years of rain and snow, it may be from rotted wood,[4] soil subsidence under the porch foundation, rust of nails and fasteners,[5] and not being built to specifications required by modern-day building codes.

The phenomenon is associated with older or poorly constructed multistorey apartment buildings with wooden porches.

The weight of approximately 70 people caused the recently renovated porch of the 1890s vintage building to fail.

The inherently weak connections were prone to failure, resulting in collapse with injuries and occasional death.