Seismic Forces and You

 I hope you're taking the structural exam soon, because today was class experiment day for seismic loads.  As such, the internets a-sploded with great seismic resources:

A summary of modern seismic-mitigating devices is here.
http://gizmodo.com/5833664/how-buildings-stay-up-when-the-earth-shakes

Here's a feature story on the world's most state-of-the-art earthquake-resistant structure.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/11/worlds-largest-earthquake-safe-building/

You can see the Mercalli Scale in action here, where real people are asked to rate the amount of shaking and damage they experienced.  Totally subjective - I've never been in an earthquake before, so I would throw off their system, because I give it "two thumbs up."

This article relates directly to FEMA's report that should be read, in which existing structures are evaluated for seismic resistance.  This quote hits close to home:

The [structures] that are of a particular concern are unreinforced masonry. The brownstones, six-story, turn of the century. Those are the buildings that don't have much ability to withstand lateral forces, and they tend to crumble.