AP: New York City’s skyscrapers are built to withstand most earthquakes

While last Friday’s 4.8 magnitude earthquake left many in the metro New York area shaken, it had a negligible effect on the city’s skyscrapers. Tall towers, Managing Principal Elisabeth Malsch explained to The Associated Press, are designed to be flexible enough to stand up to hurricane winds and other impacts, which makes them less susceptible to earthquakes. “The earthquake that we design for is one that’s unlikely to happen,” she said. “It’s a thousand-year event.”

Read more at The AP

Elisabeth also spoke to George Solis of NBC Nightly News about how the city’s buildings have generally been designed for earthquakes. (The segment begins at 6:00.)