They play it down so as not to scare the people. Maybe it is time to scare the people, but if you do and the quake doesn't occur you're a villain.

Hi Don,
Couldn't help but notice your words. In the book I have a subhead,"Keeping Mum to Prevent Panic." Here's a couple of passages:

"In natural disaster film, the government is cautious about providing earthquake warnings, whether they come fromstrange animal behavior or human predictions. Why? It can create panic and chos with evacuations that go nowhere, and wreak havoc on a booming real estate market or the tourist trade. In other words, quake warnings that do or don't deliver a hit can and do affect the economy. . .

. . .But I can't help remember from the film Jaws how it was more to keep teh tourists happy than to evacuate for safety's sake. Plus, panic forces people to take action, like in the film The Trigger Effect, which shows how fast society loses control during a blackout--without power, phones, and computers. The message is, it's key to be self-reliant because when bad things happen you're on your own...

...According to Dr. Max Wyss: "In my opinion, it is unacceptable for an individual or a government, who had information on potential risk due to natural disasters, not to warn the public..."