instead the money should be focused on quake pattern.

1. science has much higher confidence in grading area according to its liability to quake and magnititude than precisely predicting when.

2. what is a "precise" prediction? 60%, 80%, 95%. emergency relocation and evacuation cost a lot fianancially, let alone to say effects on psyche, society stability. it's not like weather, no one would sue over a false raining prediction, but there's good chance lawsuit and compensation issues over false quake one.

3. even if the prediction gets lucky, rebuilding of damged area again costs a lot.

so we better give up on predicitons, instead we try to find out which area is the hottest spot, medium, and most unlikely one. and building code should be based according to that analysis, the most dangerous area better avoids concentration of buildings.