The military knows that "as you train so shall you fight" and therefore try to achieve realistic training with all the troops not just the leadership.

If the population is not inclined to put in the effort (which is probably not true) then response efforts will probably not be as good and effective as they could be. Just alerting people to not striking a match right after an earthquake where gas line feeds are present can save alot of lives right there. And how about having that flashlight around too ?

Maybe a day will arrive when periodic "earthquake (training)sirens" go off (say in LA if the businesses don't scream too loudly)...and people can reveal there reactions. An educated group deployed in the area to observe may be able to tune training to get a better reaction for the real deal. Fire control coordination is probably a top priority along with digging the bodies out that are still breathing.

One problem that you pointed out (in your Kobe, Japan link ahile back) was that water supply lines were severed during the quake. This one fact alone probably doubled or tripled the damage done.

I think that given the current state of training (or lack thereof) amongst the population opportunities to reduce damage will/may be missed.

Simple individual efforts (like securing the water heater, purchasing safety cutoff vales for gas lines, stockpiling supplies, etc.) can make a big difference.

A lot of this mindset transplants over to other (e.g. terrorist-related) disasters too.

Sad to say, more earthquake damage will probably be needed to encourage wider preparation by the population at large in order to prepare for such events. But the failure of community leadership to recognize their own failures (as itemized above) is also a key area for reform...or so it seems.

Just (some of) my $.02 worth