The 7.4 magnitude that struck eastern Taiwan yesterday has provided evidence as to how the country’s reputedly strong building codes and regulations prevented significant losses of life and property 25 years after another tragic seismic event led to widespread change.

"Taiwan’s earthquake preparedness is among the most advanced in the world," Stephen Gao, a seismologist and professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology, told the AP. "The island has implemented strict building codes, a world-class seismological network, and widespread public education campaigns on earthquake safety."

This state of preparedness is credited to government action following a September 1999 earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 that caused 2,400 deaths and damage to over 50,000 buildings on the island. Another factor within this are business and governmental conditions inside Taiwan, which is worth comparing to Turkey's response to an earthquake that occurred there the month before the same year. This earthquake led to similar regulatory changes that weren't as effective for a multitude of different reasons.

An article in the New York Times that month cited an expert from the earthquake risk management advisory EQE International as saying: "In Turkey the whole thing is done without any inspection and there's probably more corruption. You wind up with buildings that are theoretically supposed to meet the California code but are nowhere near it, with bad architecture, bad engineering, bad construction and inspection."

The evidence of that tragically came last year in February when the country suffered $34 billion worth of damages in a 7.8 magnitude event that claimed approximately 53,000 lives. 

Taiwan, at least as of CNN's latest accounting, has suffered damage to approximately 100 structures (the Times separately reported 15 lost and another 67 damaged), while the most recent death toll is just nine persons.

What could result from a closer analysis could also make an impact in Los Angeles, which has similarly loose soil as the city hastens its own building code updates partly in response to the most recent Turkish quake. Planners in the city are wary of a 7.5 magnitude or greater "Big One," which the USGS said in January has a 31% of occurring in the next three decades. (H/t KTLA and NBC4 for the local info.)