The damage to the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was very similar to the damage done to the American Embassy back in April of 1983. Here are a couple photos of the Embassy, before and after the explosion.
According to reports that I've read, when a large explosion like a truck bomb detonates at ground level next to a building, the force of the blast pushes up on the building's floors, separating them from the support columns. It then knocks out the support columns easily since they aren't anchored to the floors any more. Gravity then does the rest.
I don't know if you can accurately call this a design flaw since few buildings are designed to withstand bomb blasts. I don't know what you could do to prevent it from happening, other than perhaps making stronger connections between the support columns and the rest of the building's framework.
Current Events » in reply to I'm sure ANFO can knock down buildings
Ground level explosions
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