Huge Earthquake In Iran

News reports say at least 4000 killed and could go as high as 20,000. It's interesting to note that this was a magnitude 6.7 quake. The recent California quake was a 6.5. I know the Richter scale is logarithmic but there could not be that much difference in strength. But there's a huge difference in damage and death toll: only 3 in California and 4000 or more in Iran. The difference? Structural integrity of homes and business buildings. A lot of the buildings in Iran are mud or stone huts and collapse easily. The state of California has enforced earthquake building regulations for decades and the difference shows. Of course, most of the people in Iran are dirt poor and building regulations would be a moot point.