actually, even tho our earthquakes tend to be 1. and 2. deals, (and are mistaken for heavy trucks speeding by) NYC does have an earth quake standard. its rather new, and it is not manditory, but many building do meet a minimal standard..(and some are build to very high earthquake resistant standards.)
way off topic...in white
after the Towers came down, one fact that came out was, the designer/engineer/ had thought about a plane hitting the building..(after all a fighter plane had hit empire state building in the 40's) He just didn't plan on the fuel-- and fire... the terrorist thought they could hit them and topple them in seconds.
in many ways the best thing that happened to NYC was the attack on the TWC in '93--it took them over 4 hours to evacuate the buildings then..but after that, every one took safety, and evacuation drills seriously, and on that day in September, every one below the plane crash floors was out of the building in 45 minutes! what a change!
OP
