Dataset of Bridge Collapses in Italy Spanning more than 25 Years (2000–2025)

Published: 18 May 2026| Version 4 | DOI: 10.17632/pmkzng9kmv.4
Contributors:
Marco Civera,
,
,
, Christian Paolini

Description

This dataset was developed as part of the research study “Bridge collapses in Italy across the 21st century: survey and statistical analysis.” The dataset has been updated and now documents more than 250 bridge collapse events that occurred in Italy between 2000 and 2025. Each entry includes some general information and a proposed event classification. The former includes the date and location of the collapse, the geographical coordinates (WGS84), the administrative division, the bridge use classification, the number of fatalities, and the number of injuries. Each collapse is classified according to four major fields: severity (Total Collapse or Partial Collapse), general cause (Natural or Human-induced), mechanism (Triggered or Not-Triggered), and specific cause (e.g., hydraulic phenomena, overloads, impacts, or material degradation). The dataset was developed through systematic searches of institutional archives, news media, and satellite imagery, complemented in some cases by in-situ visual inspections. It is structured in Excel format and supports spatiotemporal analysis, risk assessment, and resilience planning. It is intended for reuse in civil engineering, infrastructure asset management, disaster risk reduction, and policy development contexts where empirical evidence of bridge collapse is required. The file "Database Italian bridge collapses.xslx" is the original version, as described in https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2025.112375 and used for the analyses reported in https://doi.org/10.1080/15732479.2025.2483500. This version is intentionally frozen at the publication date of these two works. The following updates will be periodically added, including both newer collapses and corrections on previous entries, but will not overwrite this original file. 2026 May 17 update: "Database Italian bridge collapses - 2026_04 Update.xlsx" released, with new documented events and a few corrections on previous entries (all changes highlighted in yellow).

Files

Institutions

Categories

Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Traffic Accident, Explosion, Aging of Structure, Fatigue Damage, Corrosion Fatigue, Flood, Earthquake Effect on Structures, Earthquake, Damage to Building, Infrastructure, Rail Infrastructure

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