Isn't it generally expected that skyscrapers will be pretty well-engineered? Are there any examples of skyscrapers being significantly damaged by an earthquake?
Well, sure. But we don't usually get dramatic video illustrating just how well engineered they are.
I tried to think of an incident where a skyscraper was significantly damaged in an earthquake, but I couldn't off the top of my head. All I remember was how well Taipei 101 stood up to the earthquake that occurred while it was being built[1].
Yes, but 8.0+ quakes near major cities are rare enough that there's limited experience to draw from.
There hasn't been anything over 7.3 affecting the lower-48 United States in over a hundred years; nothing over 7.9 in over 300 years. (There was a ~9 in the pacific northwest in 1700.)
Japan's building standards are said to be the best in the world. An 8.0+ near a US city could include some nasty surprises for buildings of all types.
They could be using software correction. That explains only one building moving a lot, very small movement on the others(reference part of the frame fixed).
Sorry, that was just my tounge-tied way of expressing admiration for the tremendous skill of Japanese civil engineers. Surely those building were designed without expecting them to survive an 8.9 earthquake, yet survive they did. I am in awe.
