SaraFist

Construct a seismic channel built out of Californians.

The scenario left an impression of much greater devastation that is anticipated to occur, however.

Could you amplify that a bit?

Frankly, the article was pretty horrifying, and I saw several people in my FB Portland parenting group flipping out and swearing they'd homeschool rather than send their children to schools that would just crush them in the even of a quake. (The Gearheart school scenario was terrible, too.)

Yeah, I'm wondering what--if anything--renters can do.

Considering the rentals market in PDX right now, pressuring landlords to invest in seismic retrofitting probably wouldn't go down very well...

You need to contact a caseworker. Do you still have your denial letter?

Some folks chimed in on that above.

Also, a homeowner can seismically retrofit their home, make sure it's bolted to the foundation, etc, whereas a person has far less control over what's done to public buildings. I'm fairly certain that's the thinking behind the freak out.