We're talking about the USA here, not outside the USA. In many places outside the US, you're right: brick and masonry are very common. Then an earthquake happ

We're talking about the USA here, not outside the USA. In many places outside the US, you're right: brick and masonry are very common. Then an earthquake happens and tens of thousands of people die when all the buildings collapse. This happened in Turkey recently. So I wouldn't point to those places as having quality construction at all. Here in Japan, houses are all made of wood, not that different than American houses (but probably with much better joinery), and they handle earthquakes extremely well. Taller buildings are made of steel-reinforced concrete, but standalone houses are not.