But in areas out of the wave's grasp, homes stand unscathed, rice paddies are still productive, and parks are filled with squealing children.
The ruling that overthrew California's Proposition 8 may be allowed to stand unscathed, thanks to a nest of legal difficulties and fears of further setbacks by opponents of gay marriage.
But in other areas, such as Dujiangyan, schools crumbled while the buildings around them stood almost unscathed.
He fell off a zip line once, perhaps 30 feet to the ground, and stood up unscathed while his neighbors scrambled to call 911.
She became one of the few Coalition MPs to leave the Icac witness stand unscathed when she gave evidence in August, after the former developer and Newcastle mayor Jeff McCloy told the watchdog he may have given her money in the lead-up to the 2011 election.
The giant lemon from the lemonade stand is unscathed, as is the bathhouse and the Tornado roller coaster.
For once, tardiness may have paid off for David de los Santes, 12, who proudly displayed his unscathed down parka as he stood in front of Intermediate School 275.
Until now, Japan has stood apart from most other developed nations because its banks were relatively unscathed by the financial crisis.
Only Jacques seems to stand on the periphery, unscathed, a mere observer and plot device, deprived of his own story.
While Moe is like the older father figure of immigrant literature, impotently lashing out with ridicule and physical attack, Curly can stand anything Moe dishes out and remain unscathed.
