Structurally challenged buildings and earthquakes

Last night we had some friends up for dinner. They are on the MAF Congo team and had just recently come back from furlough so we were looking forward to catching up with all their news. Earlier in the evening we had been discussing all the new buildings that were going up in around the city of Kampala. How most of them keep standing is a miracle in itself. The other day Simon and I had been driving past a hotel that was in the midst of construction. There was a workman perched on the edge with a ball of string in his hand with a piece of it dangling over the edge. Whether or not he was using it as a plumb line or not we will never know but it was a frightening thought if he was. Although this did help to explain the look of the partly finished hotel. It was wider at the top than it was at the bottom and part of the corner of the hotel jutted out onto the walkways. Once these hotels are painted on the outside you think they look great but if you keep in mind what it looked like before you think twice of going inside.
Anyway while we were discussing all these recent constructions we wondered what Kampala would look like after even a moderate earthquake the unthinkable happened. We had not long just uttered those words when our chairs began to vibrate. It lasted at least 30 seconds which is a long time in an Earthquake. Throughout those 30 seconds you are wondering if this is going to be earth splitting or just a rattle. Thankfully it was just a rattle and it disappeared. It was quite an eerie feeling as we looked over towards Kampala with a lightning storm going on in the distance. Even the animals were alarmed by it as dogs started their chorus of barking as did many birds. It made us realise who really is in charge of this world and it certainly isn't us!!!