MORE TO QUAKE RISK THAN POTENTIAL `BIG ONE'

A recent earthquake study at Stanford University revealed an interesting fact: St. Louis is safer from earthquake risk than nine other cities surveyed, including Boston.

The study also concluded that San Francisco is a safer place to be than Boston during a major earthquake.

The risk index is the brainchild of a civil engineer and doctoral candidate at Stanford University's John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center. It measures how much damage a major quake would likely cause as opposed to how like a quake is to occur.

Obviously, earthquakes are much more common in San Francisco than Boston. But Boston's older buildings and infrastructure are more likely to crumble under a major earthquake, according to the study.

You get the picture.

The index serves as a reminder to people about the importance of preparing for earthquakes.

No one can predict when "the big one" is coming. It may be next year or the next century. But through emergency preparedness, the region will be ready -- when and if -- disaster strikes.