This is simply wishful thinking and in some ways its not helpful especially now. However, Haiti has to rebuild and what are the choices. Either they do it right, they continue to do it wrong, or there's a mix with some buildings rebuilt to withstand seismic activity and some completely vulnerable to it.
On the other hand it was a massive earthquake and they are saying that the force of it was greater than the nuclear explosion at Hiroshima. I think this is a horrible analogy on a purely empathetic level but this is the way people think.
CNN: It could take 10 years to rebuild Haiti
The energy generated by the January 13 earthquake in Haiti was larger than that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
Most of the construction appears to be reinforced concrete frame but with little seismic reinforcement. Review of the photos of some of the collapsed multistory structures shows very slender columns supporting heavy concrete slabs.
A closer look at these photos shows that the amount of steel reinforcement in many cases was minimal, if it was present at all. This type of construction is consistent with areas that are not earthquake-prone, where the structure is expected to carry only vertical loads such as those due to the weight of the building material.
Higher-strength columns would have been needed to resist the earthquake forces, but they also would have to have been connected properly to the beams...
An even greater concern is the potential failure of the water and sewer system. It is very likely that underground water and sewer systems have been damaged, leading to potential contamination of the drinking water.
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