Not to mention a few of those countries that have recently been devastated by earthquakes are in regions susceptible to quakes - Japan, New Zealand, even Haiti.

Not to mention a few of those countries that have recently been devastated by earthquakes are in regions susceptible to quakes - Japan, New Zealand, even Haiti. Japan, for example, has had a long history of dealing with quakes. What's striking is the sheer devastation and magnitude of the recent catastrophes, partly because we sometimes forget, that despite our technology and achievements, nature is nobody's pet or mother.