[KoftaBob]

> cannot fathom why we would ever build houses from trees instead of reinforced concrete

Steel-reinforced ICF (Insulated Concrete Form) has become a much more common frame material for homes in the US, especially in the hurricane-prone southeast.

[jandrewrogers]

The deep southeast has the advantage of being one of the few regions in the US without a known major earthquake risk. It makes a lot of sense to use concrete there given the other natural hazards.

The closest major earthquake zone is in South Carolina, which had M7+ earthquakes as recently as the late 19th century.

Given how prevalent strong earthquakes are across most of the US, I always wonder if the few areas on the map without a known seismic hazard means we just haven't discovered it yet.

[KoftaBob]

ICF is more resilient to earthquakes than wood frame is, as far as I understand.