One is that the California early warning seismic system picked up a 10-second warning before the quake was felt. The technology is there to expand this system to make it more of a reality. The only things lacking are the will and the funding. Actual disasters change the equation of things and with a little bit of success there may be an opportunity now for California to lead the way in putting a true warning system in place — likely with a little help from the feds.
The other success from yesterday's quake was the seismic mitigation of older unreinforced masonry buildings. California has led the way in public laws about these structures, and those that had been retrofitted fared better in the quake than those that had not been touched yet. Governments (like the city of Seattle) may be encouraged to take the steps necessary to improve the life safety of their residents by having laws in place that move from talking about mitigation to actually doing something about it.
