Hugh Nibley
"It would appear from the account of the Nephite disaster that the main cause of the destruction was fire in the cities (3 Nephi 9:8-11), which agrees with all the major statistics through the centuries; for 'earthquakes are largely a city problem,' mainly because the first heavy shock invariably sets fires all over town: in the Japanese experience 'wind-driven flames were shown to be more dangerous than the greatest earthquake.'" (Since Cumorah, p. 233)