Damage effects to buildings must be taken into account when performing consequence analysis, because people indoors call be affected by such damage. The objective of this article is to provide a methodology for estimating damage to buildings from the pressure wave produced by bursting cylindrical vessels, bp combining characteristic overpressure-impulse-distance curves with PROBIT equations. This methodology allows the damage to be shown in the same diagram as the overpressure, impulse, and distance. Diagrams and equations are presented to determine minor damage to brick buildings or less floors (broken windows, displacement of doors and window frames, tile displacement, etc), major structural damage (cracks in walls, collapse of some walls), and collapse (the damage is so extensive that The building is partially or totally demolished). (C) 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 28: 179-189, 2009