Will the Real Hotaling Please Stand Up?

The skyscrapers of Santiago at least still are. Standing up, that is. Other structures, however, don't share that virtue.

So, speaking of whatever gods there may be:

The company says code changes made in 1996 in particular have led to a "majority of Chile's insured risks" being well designed, and far more likely to survive than "older counterparts."

Indeed, churches and other buildings that were constructed without reinforced concrete were prominent among those that have collapsed, early reports indicted.

"They just crumbled to rubble," said one expert.

Reminds me:

If, as some say, god spanked the town
For being over frisky,
Why did he burn his churches down
And save Hotaling's whiskey?

All good questions.