“We saw the worst case scenario in substandard construction,” Ghannoum said. “Usually we use deformed steel bars in concrete, which helps them bond to the concrete. Most of the bars we saw, maybe 80 percent, were smooth so they just slid through the concrete. There was practically no confining steel to keep the concrete intact during shaking. The concrete itself was very sandy, with very little cement. We could crumble the concrete with our hands”