How to make an earthquake-proof building, as explained by The Economist

The Economist explains the basics of earthquake-proof architecture

(Image credit: The Economist/YouTube)

published 1 May 2015

Nepal estimates that last weekend's magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed as many as 15,000 people, but that's just the latest seismic tragedy — more than a million people have died in earthquakes in the past 20 years alone, The Economist explains in the video below. And mostly what kills people is being crushed under collapsing buildings. But "it's possible to design buildings so they're more resilient to earthquakes, keeping them light and flexible so that they can absorb and distribute the energy of their movement," the mellifluous narrator explains. And not all the techniques are new — Japanese builders discovered one trick at least 14 centuries ago. Watch below to learn some basics of earthquake-proof architecture, and the nifty way you test it. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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