Hi Don,

That was a very informative post, for which I'd like to express my appreciation.

However, one part of the equasion in the prelude before this event occurs is earthquake safety education. But its a strange thing that this type of education though its "out there" seldom reaches out to everyday people.

One thing you and I have seen for ourselves in our various trips to Parkfield, "The Earthquake Capital Of The World," was the very absense of earthquake preparedness information readily available to the public and it has puzzled both of us and the residents of Parkfield greatly.

One of the key ingredients in the preparation stages of the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment was in the creation of how to deliver alerts, informing the citizens of what might happen, what to expect if the quake didn't arrive in 72 hours and with the help of the San Luis Obispo County, they created a very good plan for preparedness. But 18 years down the line, the preparedness feature of this plan is presently absent in Parkfield except for the efforts Don and I personally made to bring brochures we obtained to hand out to customers at the Parkfield Cafe.

While I have made some effort in trying to influence those who can to change this quiessence in published materials, even if they don't, come October when we plan out next trip, there will be more. Thousands of people from all over the globe visit little Parkfield for various reasons and we are going to make sure they don't walk out of the EQ Capital without something in their hands that teaches them how to prepare.

Just remember, "out reach" is not "out reach" until you "reach out" and deliver it. People are not going to sit down after a hard days work and run through the internet to find out how to prepare. They need it right in front of their faces and in their hands.

I do agree with Topozada that we are on the edge of another moderate to large quake in the Bay Area. While it could come from the RCF, it could easily come from the area around Pacifica as well. Sometimes its hard to tell. But it wouldn't hurt if some folks did a little field work when the opportunity arrives and have a look at some very impressive damage when they are invited by a homeowner to come and see it for themselves. While Topozada received my damage assessment report for the Bennett Valley quake, which was quite thorough, the rest of the field crew didn't think it was necessary to come and have a look see for themselves. You can only learn so much from being a desk jockey and when the opportunity comes to go have a look see and its not that far away, I think it only prudent to get out from behind those desks and go have a look.

Yada, Yada, Yada. All hands to the wheel, let's see some progress.

Petra