If you have a well-paying job in Seattle, and in your line of work it's hard to find a job anywhere else, will you still try to move away because of the possibility of an earthquake? People in the Northwest are aware a big one is coming, just like people in California know a big one is coming. But it's very hard to pull up your roots, leave your job, your friends, etc., for something that might happen in the next 100 years.

The alternative is to earthquake-proof your region as much as humanly possible, following Japan's example. Why aren't these areas doing that?