The derailment of a freight train on a bridge in Audenshaw, Greater Manchester, on 6 September 2024 was caused by failure of screws securing the rails to a timber support system, according to the Rail Accident Investigation Branch. The incident occurred on a bridge structure where the track was fastened to timber rather than conventional concrete or steel bearers, and the screw fixings did not maintain adequate restraint. The findings point to the need for closer inspection regimes and design checks for timber-supported track, particularly at bridge locations with high dynamic loading.

Mineração Morro do Ipê (MMI) has installed 19 HÖRMANN Warnsysteme electronic sirens as an automated warning system for communities in the tailings dam impact zone. The sirens are linked to dam monitoring sensors and are configured to trigger automatically in the event of a breach, removing reliance on manual activation during fast‑developing failures. For geotechnical and emergency planners, the project illustrates integration of real‑time instrumentation with public alerting infrastructure as part of Brazilian post‑Brumadinho tailings risk management practice.

Rainfall-triggered rockfall on Highway 18 in San Bernardino County has blocked lanes and damaged barriers along a steep cut slope, following weeks of intense winter storms that saturated highly fractured granitic and metamorphic rock. Caltrans geotechnical crews report multiple failures from tension cracks and oversteepened slopes above the roadway, with debris reaching the carriageway and impacting existing rockfall fences. Engineers are now assessing options including expanded rock bolting, additional draped mesh, improved surface and subsurface drainage, and revised slope scaling protocols ahead of further atmospheric river events.