Why is it so hard to predict earthquakes?

Al Jazeera mentioned UB’s Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory and quoted Michel Bruneau in a story explaining how earthquakes happen in light of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The story mentions that the unique lab simulates earthquakes year round using two giant shaking tables. “It is possible to build structures that can survive this,” Bruneau said, referring to a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. “You can engineer the structure such that the damage is contained, so the occupants can escape,” even for buildings built from reinforced concrete, a material used worldwide, he added.