[pram]

I'm not an expert but those look like pretty wimpy columns? Kind of surprising, when I worked in a tower it had exposed concrete columns that were very thick in comparison

[mrguyorama]

As the sibling says, that first picture shows essentially interior wall framing. They shouldn't really be seeing any load!

They are buckling because the floors and ceilings are bending!

Scroll down and there is a picture of a much thicker support pillar, though still seems thin? Maybe just the context in frame doesn't do it justice.

[rcxdude]

I think the first picture is not showing structural columns: they're more a symptom (buckling as the building is moving) as opposed to the cause.