Having awakened very early on Saturday morning in order to meet with a friend for a morning hike in the Columbia Gorge, I learned early on of the earthquake centered near ConcepciÓn, Chile. Oddly enough, my hiking companion spent two years in ConcepciÓn and last visited there in August 2009. Touching base in advance of our arrival at the trailhead, he told me that he had been unable to reach any of his friends in the Chilean city. This reinforced the claims of a CNN report I had listened to which claimed that communications networks were interrupted in the South American country.Such was the devastation in Chile, in the wake of an 8.8 magnitude quake. However, my friend's experience had taught him that the human toll was likely to be very different than that of Haiti. So had my own experience, as a one-time resident of San Juan, Argentina, on the other side of the Andes. The site of Argentina's worst natural catastrophe, a 1944 quake that killed 10,000 people, San Juan is now characterized by some of the highest construction standards anywhere in the world.

In the absence of frequent reminders of seismic activity, locations in the United States have failed to make similar preparations, despite being vulnerable to earthquakes in the region of 9.0 magnitude, according to experts cited in an an essay I posted today on I&T's blog.

By raising awareness to that possibility, this weekend's earthquake in Chile - following quickly on the heels of the Haiti quake - will no doubt reshape the popular appreciation of seismic risk in North America. Risk modelers are already acutely aware of the possibility of major seismic events wherever they might occur in the United States, but greater awareness by the public generally will help to lessen insurance losses by increasing willingness to invest in mitigation strategies such as antiseismic building codes.This weekend's earthquake in Chile - following quickly on the heels of the Haiti quake - will no doubt reshape the popular appreciation of seismic risk in North America.