At the risk of stating the obvious, what has happened on the other side of the world should get the attention of all of us here in California.
The headlines after the massive earthquakes in Turkey and Syria are filled with words that include like destruction, deaths and devastation. With upwards of more than 10,000 people dying, this will be one of the worst earthquake tragedies in modern times, if not ever.
While we rarely have had earthquakes the size of the ones that hit those countries, we have had large ones that do cause damage and deaths in California, from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
And here in San Diego County, there are a lot of immigrants from Turkey and refugees from Syria who live here for whom these big quakes have affected them personally as they worry about their loved ones back home.
But for all of us who live here, who can become complacent about earthquakes because we have small and moderate ones frequently, these scenes of the damage and the rescues after these earthquakes, should spark renewed concern.
We have all heard the experts say that one day there will be the “big one” along the San Andreas fault or elsewhere in California. We’ve got the Rose Canyon fault that runs right through the city of San Diego.
So while this is a time to pray for the people in Turkey and Syria, it’s also a good idea to take some time to be better prepared if a damaging-size quake happens here, where we live.
(Photo Getty Images)