Experts agree the strongest earthquake in decades struck Southern California Sunday. With the severe magnitude of the 7.2 temblor, many are left wondering why there isn’t more damage in San Diego.

Apr 06, 2010 – Experts agree the strongest earthquake in decades struck Southern California Sunday.

With the severe magnitude of the 7.2 temblor, many are left wondering why there isn’t more damage in San Diego. Experts say it’s because the city was well-prepared.

“There are three components that have created a resilient community,” said Ron Lane, San Diego County’s director of emergency services. “A well-trained first responders system, a prepared citizenry and building codes that are made with earthquakes in mind. This was a good wake-up call for San Diego and I encourage San Diegans to think about what happened yesterday.”

San Diego State University geology professor and seismologist Kim Bak Olsen noted that geography played a major role in the relatively minor damage done in San Diego.

“If the 7.2.-magnitude earthquake happened right on the fault in the San Diego area, we would have seen a lot of damage, no doubt about it,” Olsen said. “It’s really a question of how far away buildings are from the fault.