Not necessarily: there are ways to build high rise buildings in such an environment. It also isn't hypothetical: San Francisco skyscrapers are some of the safes

Not necessarily: there are ways to build high rise buildings in such an environment. It also isn't hypothetical: San Francisco skyscrapers are some of the safest places to be during an earthquake. See also Taipei 101 -- designed to withstand seismic events and typhoons through some rather interesting "hacks".