The present disclosure discloses a method of monitoring a structure by a monitoring system including at least one strain gauge positioned on the structure and a computer processor coupled to the at least one strain gauge. According to at least one embodiment, strain data are acquired using the at least one strain gauge, and it is determined, by the computer processor, whether the structure has undergone plastic deformation according to the strain data. Further, a result is outputted according to the determination of plastic deformation.