Roger, when USGS expected an earthquake at Parkfield, TV news showed Parkfield residents calmly going about their daily jobs and errands. I don't remember hearing that schools closed. The only difference in that town seemed to be an abundance of reporters. California has so many faults that most Californians already are aware of potential dangers, so maybe reaction to Iben Browning's prediction would have differed if he predicted for a California fault instead of one in the midwest.

In Kansas when I was growing up, if a weather forecast was for a widespread hailstorm during wheat harvest, I don't think property values fell to zero. It gave farmers, including my grandparents, a bit of time to speed up their harvest schedule and save at least part of the crop, which was most of many farmers' annual income, and I didn't hear complaints afterward when a predicted storm didn't occur (don't recall lawsuits about it either). Don and Petra would know how Parkfield residents' feel about the earthquake study there and if or how it has affected local property values.

Mary C.