Just 30 seconds will change their lives :(

When flat level land is scarce you go to the extremes to have a home of your own!

The first time I saw this I stood there and stared at it for a really long time.

Why? I was staying in one of those buildings for the rest of the week.

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where earthquakes are part of life.

When I was in 10th grade I experienced the earthquake that caused San Francisco to redesign the entire Embarcadero.  

The Loma Prieto earthquake changed how millions of people lived their lives.  It took just a few seconds to change all those lives.

So there I stood looking at the houses in this photo and prayed deep down that the humble families who live there NEVER have to experience the kind of life changing events that earthquakes bring.

For the engineers reading this, yes they used rebar.  They didn't make that circular rebar method that turns cement into a spring though.

They just run a few strips of rebar up the center of the concrete and wrap the sticks with a bit of bailing wire.

I really don't why they don't use better rebar techniques but I surmise that it's due to a combination of things.

More than likely the primary factor in not using more rebar is due to a lack of money to pay for it. 

The next reason could possibly be lack of knowledge on how to do it.  

The construction companies certainly don't lack the manpower to build stronger earthquake resilient structures.

Next time you take the elevator to the top floors in your local city, take a moment to thank God for the blessing of engineers with the knowledge and funding to build structures here in the USA that resist collapse.

Then pray for those families around the world that can't afford it even if they know how to build it properly.