Earthquake Resistant Buildings, is there really such a thing?

Earlier in the year we did a lab and designed, what we thought, was the most earthquake resistant building. It's basically impossible to build a structure that can completely withstand an earthquake, but it is possible to make a building move with the sesmic waves.
Some buildings, even if they are poorly build, can hold up to a few layers of snow but it is difficult for some buildings to handle sudden movements.

http://www.reidsteel.com/information/earthquake_resistant_building.htm#2

Interesting Earthquake Facts

1. The largest recorded earthquake in the United States was a magnitude 9.2 that struck Prince William Sound, Alaska on Good Friday, March 28, 1964 UTC.
2. The largest recorded earthquake in the world was a magnitude 9.5 (Mw) in Chile on May 22, 1960.
3. The earliest reported earthquake in California was felt in 1769 by the exploring expedition of Gaspar de Portola while the group was camping about 48 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Los Angeles.
4. Before electronics allowed recordings of large earthquakes, scientists built large spring-pendulum seismometers in an attempt to record the long-period motion produced by such quakes. The largest one weighed about 15 tons. There is a medium-sized one three stories high in Mexico City that is still in operation.
5. The average rate of motion across the San Andreas Fault Zone during the past 3 million years is 56 mm/yr (2 in/yr). This is about the same rate at which your fingernails grow. Assuming this rate continues, scientists project that Los Angeles and San Francisco will be adjacent to one another in approximately 15 million years.
6. The East African Rift System is a 50-60 km (31-37 miles) wide zone of active volcanics and faulting that extends north-south in eastern Africa for more than 3000 km (1864 miles) from Ethiopia in the north to Zambezi in the south. It is a rare example of an active continental rift zone, where a continental plate is attempting to split into two plates which are moving away from one another.

These facts were found on http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/facts.php and there are even more on here! Check it out.

"Strikes Baja After Deadly 7.2 Magnitude Earthquake"

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/ktla-earthquake,0,6948498.story gives information about a Baji's earthquake.
Recoreded: 2 deaths, and 100 injuries.

"Tornadoes...Nature's Most Violent Storms"

Tornadoes have been labled nature's most violent storms by http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/safety/tornadoguide.html this site.
Tornadoes occur during the spring and summer months more frequently. They are capable of high speeds up to 250 mph and can carry on for many miles; up to 30 miles in distance.
For more cool facts on tornadoes see the site above.

Here are some tornadoe myths:
- Bodies of water are safe places to stay away from tornadoes.
- Low pressure tornadoes are what cause buildings to "explode" or fall.
- Windows should be open when a tornado comes.

California Earthquakes.

It seems like California has more earthquakes than any other part of the country. Why is that? It's not because of bad luck, it is because of where California is located. California lies between two tectonic plates and they are constantly shifting. Although most of the earthquakes that happen in California are not worth mentioning there are five that have made the rankings: Fort Tejon, San Francisco, Imperial Valley, Owens Valley, and Kern County.

For more information about the five earthquakes that made the list, check here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/321285/5_largest_california_earthquakes.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/california-shaken-44-magnitute-earthquake/story?id=10113081

All About Earthquakes!

Earthquakes are a series of vibrations included in the earth's crust by an abrupt repture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowing accumulating. The waves that are felt are made by seismic waves.

After looking on multiple sites about the Hati earthquake I found that the earthquake was a 7.0 quake, the most powerful one to hit Hati in a century. Some earthquakes, like the one in Hati, can be felt up to 200 miles away. For more information on the Hati earthquake click here: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-12/world/haiti.earthquake_1_peacekeeping-mission-president-rene-preval-haiti?_s=PM:WORLD