The magnitude 6.8 earthquake centered near Olympia one year ago today was a startling wake-up call for many on the North Olympic Peninsula.
“Some people were caught like deer with headlights in their eyes,” Clallam County Emergency Services Director Joe Ciarlo said Wednesday, the day before the first anniversary of the temblor.
But aside from rattled nerves, injuries and damage on the North Peninsula were minor.
“I’d look at the Nisqually earthquake as a gentle and kind earthquake,” he said.
Officials in both Clallam and Jefferson counties used the earthquake as an opportunity to educate the public on disaster preparedness.
“There’s always a long way to go, people get a little complacent,” Ciarlo said. “The interest heightens dramatically when there’s an event that takes place.
“Afterward, it’s ‘I’ll get my three-day kit ready next week.”‘
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