Horizontal bands are necessary in masonry buildings to tie the walls together and act as a single unit during earthquakes. Specifically, lintel bands connect walls loaded in the strong direction to support walls loaded in the weak direction. Proper design of lintel bands, including adequate connections at corners, is important. Vertical reinforcement is also required because openings in walls weaken the structure. During quakes, wall piers can disconnect and rock, but vertical bars force the piers to bend instead of rock, preventing collapse. Reinforcement around openings restricts cracking at distorted corners during seismic deformation.