PORT ORCHARD — As earthquakes go, the recent 4.2 shaker near Belfair was small potatoes for quake-savvy Puget Sounders. The quake resulted in barely a nudge for many residents and didn’t inflict any injuries or property damage.

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network’s blog said that tremors like the one in Belfair are part of the Cascadia Subduction Zone’s ongoing reaction to the Juan de Fuca Plate’s slow slip westward, which adds stress to the 620-mile subduction zone that stretches from northern Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino, Calif.

Ken Creager, an earth sciences professor at the University of Washington, cautioned that the Belfair quake and numerous other minor tremors resulting from the plate’s shift aren’t worth fretting over. While they may slightly increase the likelihood of a feared “megathrust” quake in the near future, he told the Patch news site that the chances of the “Big One” striking soon still are “highly unlikely.”

What the Belfair quake did accomplish, though, was to remind people living in Kitsap County and the Puget Sound region in general that this area always is at risk of an earthquake, whether it results in a minor rumble felt by just a few or a devastating jolt that can take down buildings, kill scores and move hillsides.

While residents are left to their own devices to plan — or ignore — the inevitability of a large earthquake, cities and counties in the area are making slow progress to prepare for such an impactful natural event.

Emergency management officials and seismic scientists have criticized the lack of leadership, particularly in Seattle, that’s needed to strengthen building codes and retrofit vulnerable structures in time before the next large-scale quake.

In Kitsap County and elsewhere, these experts have nonetheless sent out a warning to residents to prepare for the worst possible emergency scenario: a region with a nonfunctioning power grid; a limited potable water supply; interrupted medical services provided at damaged facilities where a sizeable number of earthquake victims would be turned away; and a crippled transportation system.

Ultimately, such a disaster “is going to be beyond all of us,” said Mike Gordon, director of Kitsap County’s Office of Emergency Management.

“It will be a big event. I could never have enough resources to prepare for something like that.”

The best hope for this region, he said, is that communities cooperate before a megaquake strikes — and afterward.

“Most people are pretty self-sufficient, but if you look at your community and map your neighborhood, then you all can be self-sufficient together.”

To get to that point, Gordon said his department is working hard to raise the visibility of the need for earthquake preparedness in the county.

“We have been very busy with a lot of community preparedness programs throughout the county,” he said.

“We do a lot of presentations for homeowners associations, businesses, long-term care facilities, senior centers, that type of thing. It’s all about outreach.”

In a real emergency situation, the actual earthquake event often is just the opening chapter of a nightmare scenario. It can often be a prelude to a series of events that could even jeopardize one’s safety. That’s a key message his organization stresses to audiences.

“It’s all about getting people home safely,” Gordon said, “making sure they have the information they need about how to get home safe after an earthquake. It prepares them if they have to stay overnight somewhere other than at home.

“We also talk about having a preparedness pack at work or school as well as at home. That allows a parent to know their child and spouse is better prepared in a crisis.”

The Office of Emergency Management is continuing its community outreach program this year.

Gordon said his organization will be participating in a couple of preparation exercises with the U.S. Navy this year, and is meeting with city mayors in Kitsap County, including Port Orchard Mayor Rob Putaansuu, to help improve each town’s emergency operations center.

He said emergency communications also is high on his 2017 agenda.

The department has signed an agreement with KITZ radio (which has a broadcast tower at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds) to broadcast emergency information from the site if needed. Bremerton-based cable television public channel BKAT, also would serve as a county information source during disasters.

Gordon’s department has a dedicated web page for disaster preparedness.

It can be accessed at www.kitsapdem.org/preparedness.aspx.

Bob Smith is regional editor with the Kitsap News Group.