the 2002 afganistan earthquake measured 5.9 on the richter scdale and killed 1800 people. the 2001 western Washington 6.8 on the richter scale and killed only one person. can you imagine why the huge difference in the numbers of deaths? hint it has something to do with materials

Answer 1

When buildings aren't constructed to withstand earthquakes, people who are in those buildings are killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake_engineering