Hell Mary C. Yes, I'd say state and local officials. But, first research who is already doing this sort of work. Actually, I like to think that my work does eventually save lives, and it is important that I understand how this works. It is now a requirement in NSF proposals that you specifically state what the broader impacts are. If I can link my proposals to saving lives in LA or Istanbul, then I have a better chance of funding. So, what might I say: recognizing, say, a blind thrust fault beneath Santa Monica Bay that extends to right off of Palos Verdes, and may dip under Los Angeles as part of Shaw and Suppe's Compton-Los Alamitos thrust, and showing evidence that this is active, and then mapping the shape of the fault, will allow other researchers to models slip on such a fault, and then model the propagation and amplification of seismic waves, and where buildings and highways are in most immediate need of reinforcement......So, I have been getting this work funded, but a couple months/yr, with a failure to get the big projects funded.....
Chris