摘要:"With today's technical understanding, building collapse in earthquakes should be a thing of the past. Engineers know how to build safely in earthquake prone areas, and modern building techniques have been through extensive theoretical analyses, laboratory testing and reviews over years of research and development. However, the construction process is a complicated one, involving many players and stages, and with increasing populations, ageing buildings and other social and political constraints, the reality is not so simple. When a large earthquake occurs, many buildings continue to collapse, and many of their occupants are killed or injured."--