Why did they pancake? Building failures, soft soil amplify Venezuela quake destruction
Two recent earthquakes caused significant destruction to a coastal housing development in Venezuela, built under Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution. The 1,100-unit complex, intended as a fresh start for flood victims, saw parts of it flattened by the tremors. Engineers are now calling for an urgent audit of similar public housing projects still standing. Residents, like Yelsa Rojas, have lost their homes. The article suggests that building failures and soft soil may have amplified the quake's impact, though this is not explicitly stated as the cause of the collapse.