I told family and friends here in rural Mexico, the US had a bad earthquake and everyone was all panicky. They asked how bad it was, and I told them 5.8. They laughed and laughed, because here 5.8 is nothing. But, I told them in the US houses aren't built for 7.0 or 8.0 earthquakes and people aren't used to them.
Resonance is the real building killer. My house is built with beams at distances small enough that resonance between 20 hz, and 2 Khz can't happen, and most earthquake energy is in that range. Not to mention that beams are like 8 inches, filled with rebars, and the vertical ones have tremendous footings in the ground. And, the roof is made with so much rebar in it, you can't walk on the roof before they pour the concrete on it, at least not with my big feet.
Still, I'd better not crow too loudly until the house experiences a major earthquake. The last one here was 1999, and the house is new.
I remember quite a few years ago, back in the Midwest we went to an Easter church drama of the life of Christ. They had big speakers, and at the appropriate time, the earthquake in the Bible, they played a loud earthquake tape. My wife let out a scream and jumped out of her chair to leave the building. She was so trained as people are here, to exit in case of any level of earthquake, it was a reflex response.