How these buildings made Turkey-Syria’s earthquake so deadly

LTC Eugene Chu: And in the city of Erzin, a long line of mayors refused to allow construction of buildings which did not meet safety codes for earthquakes. This was even after the 2018 law that was passed which allowed construction not to comply with building codes if the construction companies just paid money to the state. The mayors of Erzin instead insisted on safe construction. Some people weren't happy about that. Different story now.
Not a single building collapsed, although a few may have damage that makes them uninhabitable. Not a single person died. There was cleanup in stores, etc. where stuff fell off of shelves.
https://www.yahoo.com/now/city-didnt-collapse-earthquake-survivors-121917971.html