Every time building type stuff comes up round here, one thing stands out to me. In the UK, most homes are built of blockwork of some kind: stone, brick or concrete. In the US, most of your references are to timber framed houses. Is this actually true, or just the way stuff reads?

Every time we see report from a US hurricane, we see pictures of houses being blown away, that look as if cardboard is the main construction materiel. I can understand an aversion to heavy masonry in earthquake zones, but not the rest of the country. Any thoughts?