Canuke
Enlightened
All of this is just to say that I'd rather live in an earthquake zone as opposed to a tornado or hurricane zone.
Daniel
There are limits to how big a quake you can economically build for, and "building" is an option for so few who live in the California cities even for those with money. If you rent.... well, you better know how to research building construction and fault maps.
I would imagine that building for hurricanes and tornadoes should be easier, for small buildings at least; just build into the ground. Hurricanes won't touch you there. Can't say the same for an earthquake, unless you live in a balloon.
You also get warnings and probabilities with weather; your preparations can be localized. By the time you know a quake's coming, it's here - so the likelihood of being caught in a bad place (like the effing men's room!) and/or away from loved ones is annoyingly uncontrollable.
I say all this knowing that I have a high likelihood of getting a job offer in Los Angeles. What a thread to browse knowing that