Houses in the US are flimsy. Even brick homes are actually just 2x4s spaces 1.5 feet apart with insulation in between. The brick is just stack up on the outsid

Houses in the US are flimsy. Even brick homes are actually just 2x4s spaces 1.5 feet apart with insulation in between. The brick is just stack up on the outside with an air gap between. In Europe that entire space will often be completely solid. I heard of a guy who built a German standard home in a hurricane zone in Florida (must have been insanely expensive). When the next hurricane did come the only damage to his house came from the shrapnel of broken apart american-style houses.